Transformed
by ROYSOURBOI
Summary: After an... incident in the storage room, the fighters begin to discover the darkness held within the Smash Mansion. With one gunshot, someone can change completely... With one gunshot, the lives of others are at stake. Minor character death.
1. Two Fatal Mistakes

_An idea can fell the biggest of beasts, and can break the hearts of the strongest._

 _An idea can stick, and, like a parasite, suck one's life away._

 _Someone once had a thought._

 _And this thought shall lead to the tragedies of many._

Many believe that Master Hand truly holds all the power in the Smash Bros universe. It's only a few who know the man behind the strings… and they suffer the most.

"Please, don't do this to him! He doesn't deserve this!" Bowser begged to the man. He knew there was no way to convince this monster, but it was worth a shot. After all, this entire mess could've been prevented if someone had just helped him earlier...

Unfortunately, no one truly understood Bowser, or his motives He was rather used to it, so he had to do everything to defend himself and his children. As hard as he tries to care for his kids, they still ended up in a cage, Junior held captive by the man and his knife.

"Bowser, I'm afraid that he's going to die if you fail to carry out this plan. I need a few smashers dead. Either that, or you can take the more dangerous option, much like my two other idiotic servants." He held the knife closer to Junior's neck.

Bowser hesitated. There was no purpose in taking that option. If he died from his mission, then his kids will be left to the care of _him_. And if Bowser failed the mission, then he'll be forced to watch the kids die. With this in mind, Bowser reluctantly set off to kill his first target. Since his boss oh-so-graciously handed him a list, Bowser started with the one at the top of the list: Link.

"I can't believe you convinced me to help you with this. Whatever you're paying me is gonna be a good sum of money." Dark Pit set down a large crate of items. The Smash tournament has already ended for the day, and items needed to be placed back in storage. Pit was on duty for that cleanup job.

"Sorry, Pittoo... this place just gives off some bad vibes. Plus, this would've been done with twice the time if not for your help!" The light angel grinned with hopes that maybe Dark Pit would quit complaining. Sure, barrels and crates are heavy, but would it hurt him to keep his mouth shut for five minutes?

"That's not my name, asshole! How many times does it take to get it through your thick head?"

"But it's such a cute nickname!"

"It's demeaning is what it really is!"

The two went back and forth in their argument, and soon enough nothing was getting done.

But those eerie vibes mentioned before were not from nothing. Hiding behind the Dragoon parts were Wario and Ganondorf.

"Should I shoot now?"

Wario rolled his eyes. "In a moment..."

Ganondorf aimed his pistol. It was not a deadly gun by any matter, but it did have a special purpose. Too bad not even the wielder knew what this weapon would bring. He was simply assigned a mission, and that was to shoot the angels.

Wario took out a cigar and a lighter, resulting in a silent groan from the evil king. "Wario, we're in hiding and you're smoking? Now?"

"Yeah. Why-a not? We'll end up victorious." Wario took a puff of his cigar and finally focused on the mission at hand.

"Let's mess with their emotions. Shoot the original Pit, and watch what power that gun holds." Wario knew exactly was this gun was meant to do. Back in the days of Brawl, events involving the subspace emissary occurred. Of course, Wario assisted Master Hand in turning a few characters into lifeless trophies, but that meant nothing compared to what was about to go down here.

Pit and Dark Pit's argument grew heated. In fact, Dark Pit was trying to hold back a lot of mixed emotions as he spoke, doing a poor job at that.

"You never take a moment to consider how _I_ feel! Every time they look at me, they say 'Oh look it's the _clone_!' or 'Wait, you're not Pit, you're just a carbon copy!' You don't seem to get it! I'm that other Pit that no one really likes here! I'm sick of being your shadow!"

"I know I don't understand how it feels... but I care! I'm only trying to-"

Wario took out his cigar. "Shoot."

A shot rang in the storage room, and Pit froze. There was no bullet, nor was there an injury, yet the angel was definitely shot.

Pit collapsed on the floor, leaving his twin panicked and confused.

"Pit? Pit!" Dark Pit quickly dashed towards Pit's body, shaking him repeatedly. "Wake up, you idiot! It was just a gunshot! Get up!" Despite his harsh words, Dark Pit was genuinely concerned, already choked up.

He took Pit's arm and tried to pull him up. "Ngh… Why do you have to eat so much?."

Then, to Dark Pit's surprise, Pit took hold of his arm... and broke it in one clean snap. Dark Pit barely had time to scream in pain as he was pulled to the ground and pinned down. With time to process what just happened, Dark Pit noticed something strange about Pit.

There was no emotion in his eyes, nor was there a playful smile. There was only a blank expression. A blank expression that held no mercy within.

This was no longer Pit.

Ganondorf laughed. "Mind control? Boss thinks of everything!"

Pit turned his attention away from his injured twin and noticed the laugh, standing up. Dark Pit remained on the ground, in a daze.

Ganondorf stopped laughing when he felt a light arrow fly right past his face. Wario dropped his cigar. "Ganon, run!"

The two villains attempted an escape, but Pit quickly shot the light arrows into their knees. The arrows cut straight through, and both men collapsed. Dark pit was given enough time to arm himself with his staff to stop Pit, but not enough time to land a hit. The light angel shot at Dark Pit, cutting off his left wing. Dark Pit hissed in pain and began to run. Pit didn't chase after him, but instead seemed to be... thinking. He turned away and allowed Dark Pit to escape.

The villains, on the other hand, were shot again. This time, the arrows cut through their hearts. Pit kept that same emotionless expression, turned around, and left them to bleed as he pursued his twin.

Said twin was dashing through the halls, which held the fighter dorm rooms. These were put in place by Master Hand when things were too chaotic from characters coming and going through portals to return to their own games. All the of dorm rooms were lined up through the hallway, the injured angel stopping at a certain one. Dark Pit used his good arm to frantically pound his fist into Palutena's dorm room.

She opened the door, angry and tired. "Pittoo, you'd better have a good reason for th-" She paused at the sight of him.

"Wh... What happened?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, you need to stop Pit. Knock him out, or… or something!"

Palutena wondered why, but took Dark Pit's panicked tone to heart and headed out of her room. Viridi, sitting in a corner of the dorm room, looked up from her phone and followed Palutena to watch this fight go down. She also kind of wanted to watch Pit take a good beat-down, but that may just be a dream only aided by the non-lethal regular fighting that occurs in the Smash Bros universe.

Pit was already terrorizing others in the hallway. Little Mac was struggling to stand up. From his injuries, the goddess could tell that Pit used his bow on him. Lucina was also injured, leaning against the wall. From the hole in the wall above her head and her bruises, it was easy to tell she was thrown rather than shot. Dark Pit was a little impressed that she managed to get close to Pit.

The goddesses both heard distant screaming. When they followed the noise, they witnessed Pit attempting to kill none other than Kirby. The adorable little puffball was on the verge of tears as Pit grabbed him and lifted the blade of his bow.

Palutena used the power of flight on Pit, causing his wings to move out of his control. He let go of Kirby and tried to escape Palutena's powers. The goddess pulled Pit back by his wings, slamming him against a wall and keeping him there. When Pit realized there was no use struggling, he quickly connected the halves of the bow and rapidly shot arrows. Palutena quickly summoned a reflect barrier looked back at Viridi.

"Go get Jigglypuff! I have an idea. We just need to get her to sing."

The goddess of nature made no hesitation to run over to the Pokemon day care. They lost their rights to a dorm room ever since Charizard and Lucario burned it down while arguing over who gets what dog bed.

Viridi barged in as the Pokemon were all watching TV, excluding Jigglypuff, who was asleep. The goddess sighed. "Jigglypuff, we need your help."

The Pokemon ignored her.

"You need to sing."

Jigglypuff woke up and bounded over to Viridi excitedly. "Puff?"

Viridi had no clue what the Pokemon asked, but made an assumption. "Yes, but we just need you to come with me." The other Pokemon curiously watched the two run off through the hallway.

Palutena was barely holding out. This version of Pit was not only violent, but also persistent. A wave of relief welled up within her when Viridi returned with the Jigglypuff.

"Cover your ears, Viridi... Jigglypuff, use sing!"

Both goddesses covered their ears as Jigglypuff eagerly sung. Pit was about to fire another arrow, but then he grew drowsy. The bow slipped out of his hand, and soon enough the light angel was out cold. Palutena deactivated the power of flight and watched Pit collapse on the ground. She was a little cautious to approach him, but then Dark Pit finally said something after his lengthy silence.

"Don't worry about that. Pit is a _really_ deep sleeper."

With this in mind, Palutena wondered what Dark Pit _did_ to discover that, but that was a question for another time. She picked up Pit as Viridi and Dark Pit assisted with gathering the other casualties.

The walk to the infirmary seemed like forever.

Luckily, the innocents in the hallway were not severely injured. In fact, Dark Pit even has potential for full recovery... except when it comes to his wings.

The infirmary was similar to a compact hospital. There were beds lined up throughout a large room, each divided by light blue curtains. The others injured by Pit occupied most of the hospital beds, leaving a certain doctor exhausted. Good thing he had some assistance from Mew and Isabelle.

Dr. Mario walked into Dark Pit's section. "Ok, so your arm should recover in two months as long as you keep the cast on. As for Pit, Palutena filled me in on what happened. He's restrained just in case he wakes up soon. Jeff is currently running a few tests from the DNA and x-rays we collected. If you wish to see him, now would be the best time."

Dark Pit silently followed the doctor into a separate room. As said before, Pit was restrained by his wrists and ankles, still asleep.

"I don't know what happened, but he definitely seems different. It's not like Pit to just assault others without reason. Yet, everyone else I've helped all have injuries caused by that bow of his. It has some really unique cuts..."

The light arrow was meant to cut through flesh and bone without too much bloodshed. Palutena didn't want Pit to get his robes dirty when she designed his weapon.

"Was anyone else hurt by him?" Dr. Mario asked. Dark Pit thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered the two deaths that occurred in the storage room.

"Well-"

"I have the rest results!" Jeff came rushing in holding a bundle of papers. Most smashers found Jeff's age and size misleading, but the boy has a vast knowledge of science. Not only does he run tests on special cases, but he also repairs Megaman and R.O.B. when they get injured outside of battle.

"Ah. What's wrong with him?" Dr. Mario seemed to completely forget about his previous question.

"Do you wanna hear the good news first, the bad news, or the terrible news?" Before anyone could answer, Jeff already started. "Actually, I'll say the bad news first. Pit is infected with some sort of parasite. It's eating away at his brain and taking control."

Dark Pit felt a little sick to his stomach, but stayed quiet as Jeff continued.

"Good news is, he's not entirely possessed, so there's room for recovery."

That sick feeling was starting to fade away.

"The terrible news is... Well, we need to find a cure to this very soon, otherwise Pit won't come back and we'll have to put him down."

It was no longer fading away.

"We can't do that; if Pit dies, so does his clone." Dr. Mario tried not to look at Dark Pit as he spoke.

"Well, we'll have to cage him forever if that happens to be the case… Oh, one more thing!" Jeff pushed up his glasses before shuffling through the papers. "We checked all over to see where these came from. Turns out there's a large concentration of them in the brain's frontal lobe, which is most likely where they started the infestation. These parasites seem to cause uncontrollable aggression and poor vision in their host."

This was too much for Dark Pit to take in. Palutena seemed to notice this. "Pittoo, it's getting late. Maybe you should rest."

The goddess was quite surprised when Dark Pit made no effort to protest his name as he headed back towards his dorm room.

The night was much scarier without his annoying flightless roommate to keep him company.

Dark Pit unfortunately got a noisy awakening after his rough night's sleep. He had incomprehensible nightmares with little to no memory of them. There was a blue flame... screaming... a feeling of suffocation...

After all, the twin angels even had the same dreams. Dark Pit didn't bother figuring out what Pit was dreaming about.

The dark angel reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and followed the commotion outside his dorm room. It seemed like the whole smash crowd was at the end of the hallway near the storage room. Dark Pit glared in that direction before turning around, wanting nothing to do with it.

Then he remembered.

His morning grogginess disappeared as he quickly made way towards the storage room, pushing past other characters. Once he reached front view, he witnessed the two hands and Mario standing next to what looked like two mangled bodies in a box.

Did Pit try to hide the bodies?

"If no one bothers to come forth and confess their crimes, we will be ending Smash Bros for good. Murder is a very serious offense and it will not be tolerated here!" Mario only dropped his accent when he was completely serious…

Dark Pit didn't want to rat out his twin. He hesitated, but stepped forward to confess.

But Kirby was first. He frantically jumped up and down, attempting to tell the truth. "Pip! Pip!"

Lucina helped translate. "Pit assaulted us after he came from the storage room. He seemed different though..."

Little Mac stayed silent.

Master Hand floated a little closer. "Pit? He's the prime suspect?" When all three victims nodded, the hand became enraged. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted that angel! Where is he?!"

Dark Pit slowly stepped forward. "He's in the infirmary… Dr. Mario and Jeff are trying to-"

"Seize the angel!" Master Hand commanded. R.O.B. decided to take the initiative and head towards the infirmary. Palutena shouted from the crowd. "Wait! This isn't Pit's fault! He has no control over his actions!"

"So his body just decided to kill two men and assault various others." Despite his lack of facial features, Master Hand was definitely glaring at her. Palutena wasn't sure what to say back.

"But what about Dark Pit? If Pit dies, he dies!" Viridi protested this time, only triggering a laugh from the hand.

"Clones are expendable! Just like the deceased Pichu, Wolf, and Roy, they can disappear forever and they won't be missed!"

Palutena felt a new level of irrational anger building up inside of her, but she tried to stay civil. "Pit at least deserves a fair trial!"

Master Hand laughed. "We'll have one now! Here's my opening statement: From the evidence shown by our police force, the wounds are caused by Pit's signature light arrow, a weapon which was found on the floor near this very room."

Palutena sent a look to Viridi, wondering why she didn't confiscate Pit's weapons. Master Hand continued.

"The fingerprints found on the aforementioned weapon match with both Pit's and Dark Pit's. Upon further analysis, there was no struggle between the murder victims, yet Dark Pit here has a broken arm and a wing with an injury matching the markings of the light arrow."

The angel, in shame, stared at the floor.

"Finally, the assault victims all testify that Pit was the aggressor. The only other weapon found there was a pistol which had no bullets, nor any fingerprints. The evidence all points in one direction, smashers."

The room was completely silent. Master Hand presented a solid case.

"Now for the verdict-"

"The defense did not get a chance to speak!" Palutena growled out at the hand. Master Hand scoffed.

"What defense? All I see is one desperate woman who can't accept the truth. Now raise your hand, paw, or whatever you may have, if Pit is guilty."

Mario was the first to raise his hand. With him followed Wario's closest friend, Waluigi, who was holding back his anger. Then Luigi reluctantly raised his hand when his brother glared.

Link and Zelda raised their hands. Sheik did so as well. With Sheik followed Greninja, then the other Pokemon. Ness, who was accepted by the Pokemon as their trainer, raised his hand, which called for Lucas to follow. Jeff didn't raise his hand, but he could barely be seen as everyone around him raised their hands.

Soon enough, a verdict was reached. Dark Pit, Palutena, Viridi, Jeff, and Dr. Mario were completely disregarded by Master Hand.

"So it is set in stone. Pit will be sent to Norfair tomorrow morning for his burning. Those who wish to spectate may find their place in the seating platforms above the lava. You may all proceed with fighting out on the battlefields. Lucario and Mewtwo will stay behind to clean up the crime scene."

Everyone cleared out of the room, excluding the aforementioned Pokemon, the goddesses and Dark Pit. Palutena and Viridi weren't quite sure what to do or say anymore, so they stood there, frozen as Master Hand left with Mario. Dark Pit just felt sick to his stomach.

It wasn't just from the thought of he and Pit's upcoming deaths.

It was from a gut feeling that things were going to spiral out of control… and there was no hope of stopping it.

CHAPTER 1 END


	2. The Execution

Outside the Smash Mansion was Peach's garden. Flowers of nearly every shape and size outlined a stone path leading to a large grass field. Peach was always taking her evening time to tend to the plants as well as the grass, which was always soft to the touch. The garden always looked the most beautiful at night.

Link regularly spent the nights in this garden to think to himself. But many other smashers had come to talk to him, mainly about their problems. He didn't necessarily mind his role as the mansion's therapist. He miraculously never had to talk, and he holds many secrets, some incredibly dark.

Luckily, he doesn't utter a word about them.

Tonight's patient was none other than Bowser. The turtle seemed a little fidgety when he sat down next to Link in the grass. The Hyrulian smiled, but Bowser didn't.

"Link... I need you to do me a favor."

Link raised an eyebrow.

"I need you to close your eyes."

"?"

Just do it. Please trust me on this."

Link hesitated before closing his eyes.

"Now I need you to remember the happiest moments of your childhood."

"..."

"I know it sounds weird, just do it!"

He did as told, smiling a little at the memories of Kokori Village. Bowser sighed before bringing a claw to Link's neck. "Keep your eyes closed... keep them closed..."

Then he froze. As much as he attempted to move his arm, he just couldn't. _It's for my son… for my son…_

Yet, despite his inward encouragement, Bowser couldn't bring himself to kill Link. He was too... his lengthy internal battle, he withdrew his claws and suddenly started sobbing. "I CAN'T DO THIS!"

Link opened his eyes, giving Bowser a look of concern.

"I'm sorry, Link. I can't kill you. I can't even kill Mario!" Bowser sniffed and stared at the ground, ignoring Link's sudden panic over nearly being murdered. The Hyrulian unsheathed his sword, pointing it at Bowser.

"Go ahead. Maybe my boss will notice I'm dead and let my children go. It's not like he has much use for them if I'm gone."

Link put his sword back and sat down next to Bowser.

"You don't have to comfort me. Just take that sword and relieve me from this misery."

The Hyrulian just rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to kill Bowser without reason. As first it seemed like a joke, but then Bowser stood up. "If you won't do it, then I will. What's the deadliest stage here?"

"..."

"Norfair… That's where Pit's gonna be executed, right?" Might as well keep him company." He started towards the building, then Link stood up and grabbed Bowser's arm, giving him a stern glare. Bowser growled.

"I'm going there, and there's nothing you can do to STOP ME!" At the last two words, Bowser threw Link right into the petunias Peach worked so hard on growing and dashed towards the mansion.

Link got right back up and chased after Bowser. Upon getting inside, there's a hallway leading to a staircase to the dorm rooms. But there's also eight doors, four on each side, in these hallways. The doors all led to transportation devices. Bowser took the first door to his right and stepped on the circular platform on the ground. A selection of stages appeared as a hologram in front of him, a message above them saying "DANGER! Stages are unplugged. There are no lives. If you die there, you do not come back." Bowser selected Norfair as soon as he heard Link enter the mansion. In less than a second, Bowser was transferred to the stage.

The lava was still flowing underneath the floating stage. Bowser felt a little uneasy, but shuffled to the edge of the stage.

"This is it…" He turned around when he heard Link's transporter. "Just go away. You don't deserve to die, and this is how I might have a chance at keeping my kids and you alive!"

Link wasn't one for talking, but this time he had to. "Don't be stupid! If you want your kids back, then get rid of your boss!"

Bowser laughed, but it wasn't of amusement. "If I could get to him, I'd have done that a long time ago." He stepped back, falling off of the stage. Link tried to run up and grab him, but Bowser was already in the lava when Link reached the edge.

And Bowser's screams were too much to bear.

"I've gathered you all here at Norfair today to show you an example of what happens when you take another fighter's life. You veterans may remember the first and only other execution held against Roy, charged with the murder of Pichu!" Master hand announced to the reluctantly spectating fighters.

In the floating bleachers (courteously placed by Crazy Hand in preparation for this), Pikachu seemed a little unnerved at that statement. Pichu was his own child, after all. Charizard nuzzled Pikachu to comfort him.

"Well this time justice will be served for both victims in this case: Wario and Ganondorf. The murderer here is Pit the Angel, servant of the Goddess of Light." Master Hand turned towards Palutena and Viridi. "Looks like you're going to need a new servant."

Viridi glared at him. "Don't be so smug!" Palutena pulled her back, holding her own head down. "Don't try to fight him. They might make it worse for Pit."

On the center stage, Pit stood still, binded by chains of light Palutena was forced to create for him. His face was still emotionless, and he seemed more distant than scared. Mewtwo, the executioner, used telekinesis to push Pit forward.

While everyone else was in the bleachers, seated in their respective areas according to their game, Dark Pit was alone on the platform floating above the center stage. Lucario held him down from attacking...again. Multiple times before even getting to Norfair, Dark Pit assaulted Lucario and Mewtwo, letting out a few violent outbursts that resulted in an electric collar. Handcuffs didn't work out well for him, considering his arm cast, so they had to use the same restrainer as they use on violent pokemon.

Pit was pushed all the way to the edge, just about to fall. Master Hand made one more announcement. "Take this as a message, my friends. If you break the rules, like Snake and Wolf, then you end up in prison. If you kill a fighter outside the battlefield, then you will join them. Now, I know you all have things to attend to, so I'll make this quick. Mewtwo."

Dark Pit jumped forward. "It's not his faul-AAGH!" He fell to his knees once 90 mA ran through his body. Trembling, Dark Pit finally gave up and passed out.

In the pokemon area of the floating bleachers, Arceus stared at Pit and Dark Pit, wordlessly thinking to itself. These two are innocent; it was clear to the pokemon. Arceus looked over at the two goddesses. Performing miracles this complicated clearly wasn't in their field. Arceus closed his eyes and found something to work with.

Mewtwo hesitated before taking a deep breath and pushing Pit one more time. The angel didn't even struggle. He just watched the lava come closer.

Arceus opened his eyes, then out from the lava came a large skeleton.

Horns, turtle shell, small orange lights where his eyes used to be… Mario and Luigi were the first to scream before the others in the spectator seats broke into a panicked cry. Master Hand and Crazy Hand quickly backed away while Mewtwo teleported himself into the safety of the spectator seats. Lucario ran away from Dark Pit, standing as far away from the danger as he could on opposite end of center stage.

Dry Bowser emerged from the lava in his giga form, rising like a shark and catching Pit in his teeth. Amazingly enough, he seemed awfully careful not to hurt the angel. Dry Bowser climbed up onto the stage, throwing Pit in the air and letting out a mighty roar. He caught Pit again, this time by the chains, teeth tearing right through them to free him. Bowser then transformed back to his original size and collapsed on the stage floor. Pit landed on the stage, immediately getting back up and heading for the transporter. Master Hand rushed over to grab Pit himself, but only ended up crashing into the stage when he jumped out of the way. Crazy Hand giggled, which only sparked a rage from Master Hand that no one has ever witnessed and lived. The Hand rose from where he crashed and bellowed, "LUCARIO!" The Pokemon made a mad dash towards Pit.

Unfortunately, Lucario did not know the move Tackle anymore.

Pit grabbed him and threw him on the ground. Before Lucario could recover from that, Pit pinned him down, grabbed the pokemon's head, and bashed it into the floor over and over again. Once Lucario went limp, Pit dropped him and stood back up to stare at a rather traumatized audience. The room was silent until Master Hand growled and rushed forward to catch Pit again.

Still, Pit jumped over that attack and rushed towards the transporter. When the holograms appeared, Pit clicked on a random stage and vanished.

Master Hand recovered from his second crash and sighed. "I didn't think it would come to this." He turned towards the audience. "Fighters, You are going to be dismissed, but be on the lookout for that angel. A large reward will go to whoever brings him to me, dead or alive."

An uneasy murmur settled on the fighters and assists. Some were too scared to find the angel. Others didn't want him dead. And some seemed interested in that reward. 8 transporters rose from the ends of the seat rows, where all the fighters lined up to leave. Among them, R.O.B. seemed to be recording something before leaving with another certain robot.

The last to leave was Link. He waited until everyone, including the hands, left, then made a running jump towards the center stage. He managed to grab onto the ledge when he landed, and pulling up, he examined Bowser first. Without getting too close, Link tried to check whether or not he was dead.

Bowser snorted out a puff of smoke, triggering a wave of relief within Link. The Hyrulian then turned towards Lucario and checked his pulse… Luckily, Pit mercifully kept him alive. Perhaps he thought he was dead?

Link first carried Lucario to the transporter, but didn't pick an area. He then went to Dark Pit, dragging him to that transporter, then finally clicking the main entrance. All three were sent there, then Link took a deep breath before picking up both unconscious victims and trying his best to drag both away. The trek to the infirmary was exhausting as well as unrewarding when Dr. Mario was nowhere to be seen. Leaving Dark Pit on the floor, Link laid Lucario down on a hospital bed and searched through the cabinets until he found a max potion. Once he sprayed it on the head injury, Lucario suddenly opened his eyes and used the move Force Palm right on Link's face in a panic. Link whined in pain, but shrugged it off, glaring at Lucario.

"Ah… sorry. I thought you were Pit." Lucario hung his head in shame. Link smiled before patting the pokemon's head in forgiveness. Fully recovered, Lucario hopped off of the hospital bed and noticed Dark Pit on the floor. Link immediately stepped in front of the unconscious angel with his shield out. The pokemon sighed.

"I don't want to hurt him. I don't even want to imprison him. It was only my job."

Link lowered his shield as Lucario continued.

"You need to hide him when he recovers. Master Hand will soon notice a prisoner's absence. The infirmary is no place for him to be… I suggest his room. It's an area where he's comfortable and you can lock it and no one with any amount of power can break down those doors. Trust me."

Link raised an eyebrow.

"The key is in his robes. It may not look like it, but he has pockets."

Link stared at Dark Pit, then switched his gaze to Lucario.

"Go ahead."

Link sighed and felt along Dark Pit's robes until he found a key. Lucario picked up Dark Pit. "I'll help you."

They shuffled through the dorm hallways until they reached the angels' room. Upon opening the door, it was clearly visible which side of the room belonged to each angel.

On one side, there was a very neatly made bed of white sheets. On the bed sat a lone teddy bear with a single button eye. On the wall next to the bed were pictures of both angels on the wall. Dark Pit was glaring at the camera in most of them while Pit outshined him with the brightest of smiles.

On the other side, the bed was a mess of black and red sheets. The wall was barren, but black feathers were all scattered about carelessly. Yet, not a single one was on Pit's half. Lucario struggled to get Dark Pit onto the bed, but managed.

"Go get Ness and Lucas. They're the best healers as of now. There's also Palutena, but chances are she's out looking for Pit."

Link nodded and set off to find the boys.

"PK Healing!"

"PK Lifeup!"

Dark Pit woke up to a pleasant healing sensation, sitting up immediately in shock. "Don't kill him!"

Once he processed his location and the people surrounding him, he sighed in relief. "It was all a dream… Where's Pit?"

"It's not a dream. Pit's wanted dead or alive for a large reward and you still have the electric collar. We carried you here." Lucario bluntly stated.

Dark Pit suddenly felt light-headed.

"Don't make him too nervous! He just woke up!" Ness scolded the pokemon before turning towards Dark Pit. "I'm sorry… But what he said was true. We have you in hiding just in case Master Hand goes looking for you as well. Lucas and I healed you from your slight paralysis and battle injuries. Your arm should be fine now."

Dark Pit's eyes widened when he noticed the absence of his cast. He assumed they removed it earlier. "Uh… thanks. But why are you helping me?"

Lucas finally broke from his silence. "We felt a little guilty about helping in the vote to execute Pit. The evidence was just too incriminating… But I've known Pit back in Brawl and he doesn't seem like the type to kill without reason."

"Also, I remembered Roy's brutal execution. After witnessing that scene in Norfair, it brought back some bad memories."

"Roy was executed in Norfair?" Dark Pit wasn't really shocked. It is the deadliest stage.

"No… He was shot. Mario shot him in the basement."

"There's a basement here?"

"It's accessible through the prison. Wolf and Snake are being held there. No one really goes down there besides the Smash Run minions who have to feed them." Ness didn't want to mention Crazy Hand's occasional visits that prison. Not even Master Hand knows what he does down there. "Anyway, we're on your side."

For the first time in a long while, Dark Pit legitimately smiled. At first, it seemed like Pit was the only one who actually cared about him. And even then Dark Pit wasn't sure of Pit's genuinity.

Lucas stared at the feathers on the floor and nervously kicked one off of his shoe. "Dark Pit?"

"What?"

"Have you been… molting recently?"

Dark Pit blushed and suddenly got a little defensive. "No!" He paused for a moment. "No…"

Lucas and the others just stared at him until he gave in. When he did, he looked off to the side and mumbled.

"It happens when I'm stressed. And since he's just a _ray of sunshine_ , Pit almost never does it."

Link stared at the feathers and thought about it. The angels had a few birdlike qualities... if they were gonna hunt down Pit, they were gonna need a hunting expert.

Link walked over to Pit's bed and took the stuffed bear. Dark Pit glared at him.

"Hey, don't touch that. Palutena gave it to him like… a century ago. He might snap your neck if he catches you with that, brainwashed or not."

"I know how we can find Pit." Link completely disregarded Dark Pit, observing the toy. Very well taken care of for a century-year-old stuffed bear… "We need to get the Duck Hunt Duo."

CHAPTER 2 END


	3. Paralyzed

After Pit's escape, the smashers were told to be on the lookout for him. Of course, most of them ignored those orders and went about their days as usual, unaware of the danger that freely roams the mansion.

Megaman knew he was being followed, but he simply kept on walking through the halls in hopes of reaching his dorm room in time. Just as he made it to the door, something sliced straight through his left leg.

Megaman clenched his teeth and collapsed, cursing Dr. Light for programming pain sensors into him. Even if the intent was to keep him from being too risky, it always hurt him more than help him. The robot observed what sliced through him.

A gyro. Still spinning, taunting him.

Megaman sighed heavily as he heard a beeping noise behind him.

"Idiot. What made you think you could run?"

"R.O.B..." Megaman groaned.

As a primitive robot, R.O.B. is completely incapable of speech. However, it can send signals to nearby devices.

"We need to report to Master. He must know that Prototype is freely running about, searching for its next victim."

"I don't think I'm in any state to fight it. Did you see what it did to Lucario? I'm gonna need an energy tank if I stand a cha-AGH!"

R.O.B. yanked at Megaman's left arm, nearly ripping it off. It hung by a few cords. "Master gave me full permission to mutilate you if you misbehave. You're not getting any energy cans if you don't come with me. And if you don't succeed with this mission, you'll have to say goodbye to your precious dog."

Megaman reluctantly followed R.O.B to the storage room. Much to an impatient R.O.B.'s dismay and regret, Megaman was only slowed down by his missing leg. Behind a few unused boxes was a door leading to the prison, which led to the basement. The door was only accessible through a key code. R.O.B entered it in, and the door clicked open. Megaman gulped at the sight of stairs. "Shouldn't we get someone else to alert him? Didn't you say Fox and Falco were working under Boss?"

"They can't talk to him."

R.O.B pushed Megaman down the stairs, satisfied with the sound of pained screams as he used his burner to simply fly down. Neither one of the robots made eye contact with Snake and Wolf. Those two were no longer themselves after seven years of isolation. R.O.B. and Megaman made it to the basement door as quickly as possible.

The basement was empty as usual; the big screen still remained on the wall. This used to be a spectator's area for especially dangerous stages. The Hands stopped using it since the events of the Subspace Emissary.

R.O.B. waited with Megaman until the big screen turned on, revealing a tuxedoed man sitting at a poorly organized desk. He wore a black helmet that covered most of his face, save for a single glowing red eye.

"Ah hello R.O.B.! What's the report on the prototype? Is he eliminated?"

"No. It's escaped execution thanks to your own assassin."

Megaman didn't need to translate.

"What?! He saved the Prototype? Oh when I get my hands on him..."

"That won't be effective, Master. He is invincible as of now. He emerged from the lava in a skeletal form. We're to assume whoever he was assigned to kill pushed him into the lava."

"That makes Link, Ike, Metaknight, and the villagers all suspects."

"None of them were successfully killed."

"DAMN IT!" The masked man slammed his metal fist on his desk. "I can't rely on that stupid turtle for anything!" He took a deep breath. "Ok then. I suppose I have no use left for his kids... too bad. I was starting to grow attached to them. Luckily, I have a very special way to get rid of them. You two need to find and destroy the Prototype. I've already developed a much better device."

"Will do, Master. And what of this new recruit?" R.O.B. motioned towards Megaman.

"Keep him alive. His technology is too advanced to manipulate right now, but soon enough I'll have Samus on my side to reprogram him into a killing machine. I'll just have to use a shot of Parasite 2.0. But no worries. I already have Fox on the job."

R.O.B nodded before grabbing Megaman and dragging him back up the stairs. The blue robot made no noise of pain or protest.

"Are you absolutely sure this dog knows what he's doing?" Ness was always a little iffy about dogs. They left some bad memories for him.

"Don't be stupid. Of course he knows. Pit might've lost his mind, but not his scent. It's only a matter of time." Dark Pit also didn't trust this dog all too well, considering its history of tricks and deceit, but he remained confident he'll find his violent twin before Master Hand could.

After Link let the Duck Hunt Dog sniff Pit's beloved toy, the group of boys followed the dog through the hallways. Lucario remained in the room to cover for them in case Master Hand visits. As they followed the Duck Hunt Duo, Dark Pit turned towards Lucas.

"Hey. If you guys healed me up, why is my wing still broken?"

"We can only heal whatever is already alive. Your wings don't work in general, so they're just dead appendages." Ness answered before Lucas could. The blonde sighed. "You didn't have to describe his wings so harshly."

"Hey. I calls 'em like I sees 'em." Ness shrugged. Dark Pit wasn't really offended. After all, it was the truth. "Thanks… Also, if you two can heal people so easily, then why is Dr. Mario needed?"

"If we healed everyone with our psychic powers, there'd be none left to use for battle. We could recover with certain foods, but there are way too many accidents in this mansion for it to be cost efficient." Lucas was a little glad that Ness let him talk… or just didn't know the answer.

The dog led the group outside, still sniffing at the ground. Ness narrowed his eyes.

"If he finds a tree, I'm gonna bash his skull in."

Lucas placed a hand on Ness' shoulder. "Please don't hurt the dog..."

Luckily, the dog did not stop at any trees, but instead at the rose bushes in Peach's garden. At the sight of Pit, the boys all hid behind a bush of Daphne flowers.

Pit sat down in front of a rose bush, observing it closely. He tried to pick a rose, but flinched and withdrew his hand when a thorn pricked him. Pit reached his hands into the bush, careful not to hurt himself again, then ripped a whole branch off. He swung it in the air as if to test it out.

"What's he doing?" Dark Pit whispered as he watched Pit struggle with the weak branch. Link narrowed his eyes. "He's looking for a weapon."

"Helpless without one, eh?" Ness grinned. "I say we ambush him and knock 'im out! Then we can hide him."

"Ness, be quiet!" Lucas whisper-shouted.

Pit looked in the group's general direction and dropped the branch. Dark Pit's eyes widened.

"We're seen. Attack!"

Lucas and Ness both shot out PK fire, but Pit quickly jumped away. Without hitting anyone, the shots faded away. Dark Pit dashed towards Pit, grateful Link reminded him to equip himself before looking for his twin. Using the blades of the bow, Dark Pit sprang forward and slashed at Pit. The lighter angel dodged both, his tunic taking the second blow. Pit grabbed Dark Pit's arm and flung him across the garden. Dark Pit hissed in pain as he landed in a rose bush.

While Pit was distracted, Ness got close enough to hit him with the bat. With all his might, Ness swung the bat, landing a good hit on Pit's head.

Ness froze in fear with it seemed to have no effect. A little blood trickled down Pit's neck before he slowly turned towards the boy. The blank stare paralyzed him, allowing Pit to take the bat and kick Ness back. Lucas immediately attacked with another PK fire but Pit deflected it with the bat. Lucas screamed, now engulfed in flames. Ness quickly used PK freeze on Lucas, distracted with tending to his friend. Pit started towards Dark Pit to finish him off.

And Link... simply watched the battle, observing Pit's every move.

Dark Pit managed to escape from the rose bush and its many painful thorns, but was instantly attacked by Pit as soon as he was free. Pit pinned him onto the ground and lifted the bat, ready to land the final blow. Dark Pit, realizing his doom, tried to talk Pit back to his senses.

"Pit... don't you remember me? I know you're in there..."

Unfortunately, that only works in movies. Pit did not respond. He only began to bring down the bat. Dark Pit squeezed his eyes shut and anticipated his potential death, but it didn't come. When he opened his eyes, Pit was frozen in place, holding the bat just above Dark Pit's face.

An arrow was pierced right through his heart. Pit remained still as he coughed up a little blood. Dark Pit looked past Pit to see Link holding a bow.

"Link..."

The Hyrulian smiled, but Dark Pit only glared.

"You IDIOT! WE'RE TRYING TO KNOCK HIM OUT, NOT KILL HIM!"

Link was a little taken aback. But that didn't matter. Pit was not dead.

The angel stood up, took the arrow that pierced his heart, and pulled it out.

The boys just stared at him. He was... invincible?

A black substance covered the wound, helping Pit regenerate. Dark Pit raised an eyebrow at that. Jeff never told me about that...

Ness shouted while holding an unconscious Lucas. "Dark Pit! We won't win this battle! Back out!"

Dark Pit dashed past his twin, grabbing Link's hand and dragging him along towards the mansion. Ness didn't have the strength to lift Lucas, but Link carried him along.

Before they could return to the mansion, through the door came Megaman and R.O.B.

"Found the little pest!" R.O.B. beeped.

Megaman didn't say anything.

"Guys this isn't the time! Pit's coming!" Ness growled at the robots.

"That's... what we're looking for..." Megaman mumbled back. R.O.B. jumped up and down in a fuss. "Take them out! They're in our way!"

Megaman sighed, lifting up his working arm and transforming it into a cannon. "I'm sorry..."

He blew away the whole group of boys with a charged shot. R.O.B. pointed towards Pit, who was slowly approaching and dragging the bloodied bat along the ground. His chilling stare had no effect on the robot. Megaman, however, was terrified.

"R.O.B... he's easy to eliminate... right?"

"Oh of course. Just one shot and you're good."

"Really?"

"NO YOU USELESS PILE OF SCRAP METAL! HE'S VERY STRONG! You must use Elec Man's power on him." R.O.B. sent a few more violent signals at Megaman before threatening to remove another part of him.

Megaman groaned before standing up as straight as he could with one leg and searching his database for Elec Man's power. Just as he found it, Megaman shot a blast of electrical energy towards Pit.

The angel was hit, and this time heavily affected. Ness and Lucas stared in awe as Pit fell to his knees. Even Megaman was taken aback. "That wasn't even a full power blast..."

"Of course! But we needed you to electrocute him! It's his only weakness now."

Ness was about to perform PK thunder, but Dark Pit pulled him away from the fighting scene. "We're not gonna kill him. We need to get the robots! They might kill him. Megaman is weak, so aim for R.O.B."

Ness did as told, using PK flash on R.O.B. The move landed, surprising the robot. Megaman looked at Ness and Dark Pit, then switched his gaze to the now unconscious R.O.B., then tried to make for a quick retreat. Ness readied an attack for Megaman, but this time Link held him back.

"Megaman doesn't want to fight. Leave him be."

But, as the robot made it into the mansion, Pit quickly followed, running past the other boys. Link kept note of how Pit only targets one person at a time.

The boys followed Pit to make sure he didn't chase Megaman into a populated area.

Sadly, they failed.

Megaman retreated to the food court of the Smash Mansion, where most other smashers were eating lunch. The food court quickly became quiet when Pit dashed through those doors and jumped in front of Megaman, who, by this point, was trying to crawl away. Pit lifted the bat, then swung down, mercilessly breaking through the glass that made up Megaman's eye, just far enough to hit his main memory unit.

Megaman shut down.

All eyes were on Pit, even when the boys ran through the doors. And much to Dark Pit's dismay... Master Hand was also in the food court.

"Well what do we have here? The pesky little fly that ran away!" Master Hand taunted, floating away from the pizza restaurant, closer to the exit. "And the useless clone as well. Good to see them both in my grasp... Clone, what happened to your wing?"

Dark Pit glowered at the hand. "Pit broke it. It's been this way for the past two days."

"Really? Never noticed. You couldn't fly in the first place anyway."

Palutena stood at her table. "You have no right to taunt them like that!"

Rosalina, who sat next to her, tried to calm her down. Master Hand laughed.

"I have every right! Now to-AH!"

Pit managed to land a hit on him with the bat, despite how high Master Hand was from the ground. Pit... was flying.

The same black substance that healed his wounds now covered his wings. Master Hand angrily swatted Pit back down, and the black substance dissipated.

Pit stood up and ran in for another attack, but was hit by a fireball from behind. Pit turned around, making full eye contact with... Luigi. The green plumber was standing in front of the table he sat at. Mario nervously sat at that table, twiddling his thumbs.

"You need to-a stop this! This isn't like you!" Luigi, clearly terrified, still clenched his fists and stood his ground.

Pit found a new target.

The angel dashed straight towards him, but before he could swing the bat, another shout was heard.

"STOP!"

Pit instantly froze in his tracks. And soon, all eyes were on Mario. The red plumber ignored their gazes.

"Drop the weapon."

Pit dropped the bat.

"Don't move."

Pit stood absolutely still.

Now everyone in the food court stared at Mario, waiting for an explanation, including Master Hand.

"Mario. Why does he listen to you?" The Hand didn't even sound all too angry with him.

"He's being controlled. Remember the first crime he committed?"

"Yes, the two murders."

"That wasn't his fault. Nothing here is his fault. Remember the mysterious gun?"

"Yes. No bullets were found in the area, so I assumed it was a reject item for battle."

"That thing shoots a mind control device. A quickly repopulating mechanical parasite has taken over his body. It only listens to me and my boss."

Master Hand froze. "So... all of this... isn't Pit's doing, but yours?"

"No. It was my boss! This wasn't my idea, and I didn't create those things. Wario and Ganondorf were assigned to shoot the angels with it."

"Both of us?" Dark Pit snapped at Mario. "They didn't shoot me!"

"Well they didn't follow orders. Too bad... you've been a royal pain since the beginning of this plan!"

Master Hand cleared his throat. "Mario. Does this Parasite have a weakness?"

"Of course! Electricity and fire will melt the parasites. We didn't want him to go completely crazy, so we gave him some weaknesses to kill him in case the plan backfires."

"Then we should use those weaknesses."

"It will take a lot of electrical power. And fire will surely kill him." Mario lowered his hat over his face, smiling a little.

Dark Pit didn't like where this was going.

"Well I suppose we'll have to electrocute him. I'll get a collar." Master Hand started towards the doorway.

"No. We'll need something much more powerful." Mario's smile transformed into a grin.

Next to the infirmary was a fairly empty room, save for the cabinets and shelves full of medicine and the small computer desk and chair in the corner. Gathered around in that room was Palutena, Dark Pit, Mario, Dr. Mario, Pit, and the electricity supply: Pikachu.

The pokemon was clearly reluctant to attack Pit, but these were his orders.

"Pika... CHU!"

Pit winced at the electric shock, but when it was over, there seemed to be no change. If anything, Pit was only stronger, enduring this electric attack much easier than Megaman's. Dark Pit glared at Mario. "You said electricity would get rid of these things!"

Mario sighed. "Pikachu. You're getting nowhere. Do not hesitate to go all out. You're only making things more painful for our dear angel... and me. I don't want to hear any more shrill yelling from the clone."

Palutena sent Mario a warning glance. Mario ignored her.

"Pikachu. Use your power to your full potential. Don't hold back. Use thunderbolt."

Pikachu made a noise of protest. He didn't want to electrocute Pit to death. He just wanted to help him. Mario chuckled before digging through Dr. Mario's cabinets.

"Of course, there's always the other option" Mario took out a bonesaw. "We could put him down. A quick beheading will surely kill him. Then we won't have to worry about him attacking anyone anymore."

"Don't you lay a hand on him." Dark Pit clenched his fists. This time Palutena had to hold him back. "Dark Pit. It's going to be alright. Pikachu... Pit will be able to handle it. He's been through much worse. Do as Mario says."

The pokemon stared at the floor. Eventually, Pikachu convinced himself to trust Mario and Palutena, and gathered his energy. With full on force Pikachu let out another thunderbolt.

"Pika... CHUUUUUU!"

Pit was shocked by a harsh bolt of lightening, and after a second, he began to scream.

Pikachu immediately stopped when he heard the screaming. Never before has he injured someone outside of battle. This just... wasn't right.

Pit fell to his hands and knees, trembling and whimpering. Dark Pit stepped towards him, but Pit didn't look up. Instead, he began to cough. The mild coughing soon turned violent as he choked up blood. Dark Pit shot a look at Mario. "He's not supposed to be bleeding from an electric shock!"

Mario shrugged. "The parasites are leaving, so his regeneration powers are wearing off. I hope you didn't injure him too badly."

Dark Pit suddenly felt very lightheaded. "Link's arrow..."

"Link's arrow? Oh dear. That's unfortunate. I suppose he hit something important."

Pit couldn't stop coughing, but soon enough, he gagged and vomited.

But it wasn't food.

The same black substance that healed him and and let him fly was now pouring from his mouth. Mario smiled. "At least he cleared them all out. Who wants melted metal in their system anyway?"

"Why are you so fucking amused?!" Dark Pit snapped at the plumber. "Pit's dying!"

"That's not my fault. I didn't injure him."

As much as he wanted to scream, Dark Pit couldn't even utter a sound. Mario began to leave the room. "My job is done here. I need to speak with Master Hand."

He shoved past Dark Pit and left.

Everyone else in the room watched in silence as Pit finally stopped coughing, nearly bled dry. Dark Pit kneeled down next to him, making sure not to step in the mixture of parasites and blood.

"... Pit?"

Said angel slowly looked up at Dark Pit, trembling in pain. And yet, he forced a smile. A weak, shaky, bloody smile. "Pi...ttoo..."

With that, Pit fainted in his twin's arms.

Dark Pit didn't respond. He didn't even cry. Emptiness filled his mind and body as he watched Pit's injuries begin to open on the outside. A large bloodstain began to form in the chest area of Pit's tunic.

Palutena sighed. "Dark Pit. Don't give up so soon. Why else do you think I'm here?"

The goddess raised her staff, summoning a dazzling light above the two angels. Pit was motionless at first, but then he began to cough again. This time, there was no blood.

Dark Pit stared blankly at Pit, who once again opened his eyes. And again, he smiled. Dark Pit glared at him.

"Stop pretending you're okay. I'm going to worry no matter what, so quit thinking about everyone but yourself for once."

Pit let out a weak chuckle. "So you do care."

"Don't jump to conclusions. If you die, I die. That's the only reason why I bother."

Pit smiled knowingly before closing his eyes again. Dr. Mario cleared his throat. "Pit needs to rest in a proper hospital bed for now."

Palutena lifted Pit out of Dark Pit's arms with the power of flight and carried him over to the actual infirmary. The others, including Pikachu, followed.

Once Pit was set up in the hospital bed, Dr. Mario set up a few machines and attached them to him. "Pit is still suffering from blood loss, so he'll just have to sleep until his newly recovered heart brings it all back. I'll ask Jeff to run a few more tests on the melted parasites later, so don't bother with cleaning up."

Pikachu nuzzled Dark Pit's leg, as if telling him to cheer up. The dark angel only ignored him, still staring blankly at Pit. Palutena placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dark Pit, look at me."

He did as told. The goddess frowned.

"Your eyes... they're red..." She glanced away before looking back at Dark Pit. "Don't hold in your emotions. It's not healthy."

She left the infirmary. Pikachu smiled at Dark Pit before leaving as well. Dr. Mario looked at his watch. "It's almost dinner time. I suggest you eat."

Dark Pit didn't even look at him.

"You may stay here as long as you wish. Make sure you lock the door on your way out." Dr. Mario removed his stethoscope and doctor light before leaving the infirmary.

Dark Pit skipped out on dinner, staring at Pit - no - staring past Pit, thinking.

As nighttime fell upon the Smash Mansion, Dark Pit finally registered what occurred before him, remembering Pit's first returning word.

Pittoo... I hate that name... yet hearing it made my heart skip a few beats.

Dark Pit grinned and hugged his passed out twin, sobbing into his bloodstained tunic.

Pittoo... Say it again. Don't ever change that nickname... Pittoo... Pittoo...

After dinner, Samus stayed behind as the other girls left. Her group was always the last to leave the food court. She threw away her leftovers and started towards the exit, only to trip over something. She looked back.

"Huh? They left you here?" Samus sat up, poking and Megaman's "corpse."

"You had a pretty bad day, huh? I'll fix this."

She smiled and picked up the scrap metal. "Don't be so careless. I won't help you again."

CHAPTER 3 END

 **Rest in peace, Iwata. You left many great memories within the hearts of gamers.**


	4. Unmasked

Pit woke up to the now familiar smell of medicine and cleaning supplies. This was the first time in while he was able to move. With great relief, he stretched his wings and arms before noticing the black feathers scattered about on his bed. Pit sighed. "He really needs a day at the spa..." The angel sat up in the hospital bed, staring and the barren wall in front of him. He eventually broke from his staring after hearing the infirmary door open, perking up a little.

"Oh hey, Dr. Mar...io?"

Instead of Dr. Mario, Falco walked in holding an unconscious Bowser Jr. Wordlessly, the bird pilot simply picked a hospital bed and set the child down. Out of curiosity, Pit stepped out of bed, ignoring the sharp pain in his head from the blood rush. He then peeked from the side of the blue curtain divider for a better view.

"Uh... What happened to him?"

Falco didn't answer, but instead walked past the angel and headed towards the room the Pit was recently "exorcised" in. He returned only seconds later with the same bonesaw Mario used to threaten the others earlier. Pit nervously stared at Falco.

"Falco? What are you...?"

Said bird took the bonesaw and completely removed Junior's right leg. Pit's eyes widened in terror, then he glared at Falco. "Hey, who gave you the right to do this?!"

Falco removed the left arm.

"Answer me, you dumb bird!"

Falco dropped the saw, making Pit freeze in fright. "H-hey I didn't mean it!" His smile was shaky. He was in no condition to fight, but Falco clearly wasn't a doctor so he had to do something.

Fortunately for Pit, Falco ignored the insult and pushed past him into the other room once again. He came back out with a spoon. Pit gave him a strange look, but soon his jaw dropped in mortification when Falco forced Junior's eyes open, one at a time, and gouged out his eyes.

Pit broke from his fright and charged at Falco. "STOP IT!"

Finally, Falco acknowledged his presence.

The bird caught Pit in mid-air, grabbing him by the neck. Pit flailed and kicked, but Falco was unnaturally strong... As Pit slowly stopped failing, running out a breath, he noticed the cold, dead look in Falco's eyes.

This wasn't Falco.

Pit realized this was a losing battle and stopped struggling, eventually passing out from lack of oxygen. Falco carried him out of the infirmary and dropped him right at the doorstep.

And with that, Falco returned to Junior.

"So? Whadaya think?" Samus huffed with a smile, dropping her spray paint bottle. "Took all night, but I fixed you up."

Megaman seemed to be scanning his surroundings. It took Megaman a moment to answer as he emotionlessly stood there. "My damage is fully recovered, Miss Aran. I am in your debt."

Samus raised an eyebrow. "Uh. You're usually a bit more expressive than that."

"I am not programmed to be 'expressive', Miss Aran."

"Yes, you are. Your whole purpose besides fighting is being a robot with independent thoughts and feelings." Samus narrowed her eyes. Did she forget to fix something?

"My purpose is to fight any threat towards the human race and act as a service robot when there is no threat. Individuality will only hinder me from these purposes."

Samus groaned. "Pit destroyed your personality... I doubt that's fixable by anyone but your creator."

"Dr. Light created me, but he is not present at the moment."

"Thanks Obvious-o-matic 3000."

"That is not my name, but if you wish to refer to me as such, I shall oblige." Megaman remained blank-faced. Samus let out an exasperated sigh.

"I don't actually want to- ugh. Is sarcasm a concept to you?"

"I am incapable of processing tone."

"And your emotions?"

"I am incapable of experiencing human emotion."

"I've made a terrible mistake..." Samus leaned against the wall of her dorm room. She didn't really know Megaman for very long, so it's impossible to copy whatever personality he had before that chip was destroyed. She could give him a different personality... but that'd take months of work. Independent AI is too advanced for the supplies the Smash Mansion can offer. "Alright. I'll leave you like this for now. Do you know what's wrong with R.O.B.? I found him shut down outside the front door to the garden. I used some of his parts to repair you, but when I was dismantling him, something seemed off from when Shulk and I usually repair him.

"Robot was reprogrammed to do the Masked Man's bidding. His moral programming was also removed, so he will injure anyone he wishes, including the innocent."

"Who's this Masked Man?"

"My scanners couldn't identify him. However, I can tell you who works for him and what exactly he's trying to do."

"Well, go ahead."

"The fighters who work under him other than R.O.B. or myself are Mario, Fox, Falco, Bowser, Captain Falcon, Ghirahim, Elec Man, Ashley, Kat, and Ana. The deceased Wario and Ganondorf also worked for him, but died while carrying out their mission."

"Assists too?" Samus made a mental note to never talk to Kat and Ana again. They can't be trusted anymore.

"Affirmative. The Masked Man promised them their greatest desires in exchange for their help. His overall plan is not clear, but he's developing advanced parasites that can eat away and take over a person's mind. Wario and Ganondorf were assigned to test out the first parasites, which were named Prototype. The targets were the light and dark angels because they were the easiest to target. Always together, and not very smart, those two made the perfect test subjects. After that was a success, the Masked Man developed a new, more advanced parasite and shot both Fox and Falco with it. It was a complete success."

Samus grew more and more disgusted at the thought of this "Masked Man." "And I suppose he's hard to kill?"

"His frame is average, and my scanning sensed a moderate threat. It's just impossible to reach him. There is a transporter in the basement where we communicate, but it requires a complex passcode to enter the office he resides in."

"Well, if it requires a special code, then we should have a good long talk with the Hands."

Dr. Mario unfortunately slept in, but figured that Pit wouldn't really need early morning treatment. Boy was he dead wrong when he saw the unconscious angel sprawled out on the infirmary doorstep.

"If I had known of your apparent sleep walking habits, I would've taken extra precautions." Dr. Mario struggled to lift Pit before opening the door. "Ngh... you need to change your eating habits... this is not healthy... for my back."

With much struggle, Dr. Mario managed to drag the angel inside, but froze at the sight of a heavily bloodstained hospital bed. A bloodied bonesaw and spoon lie on the bed, along with a single feather, also covered in blood.

"What on earth? I don't remember performing any type of surgery recently..." Figuring this issue would take closer investigation, Dr. Mario pulled Pit back into his bed and returned to the scene, picking up the feather first.

"Hmm..."

The doctor jumped a little at the sound of the infirmary door opening, but was only relieved to see that it was just Dark Pit holding a bag of leftovers from breakfast. Most others were still eating in the food court.

"Hey Doc. Just wanted to-" He paused, staring at the same hospital bed. He glanced at Dr. Mario, and then the feather, then he dropped his food.

"You..."

Dr. Mario just then realized what Dark Pit was thinking. "Ah, Dark Pit! This isn't-"

"You MONSTER!"

Dark Pit immediately tackled the Dr. Mario to the ground, wrapping his hands around the doctor's neck and strangling him. He only stopped when Dr. Mario was nearly about to pass out. Dark Pit growled.

"You've got five seconds to explain yourself, old man."

Dr. Mario smiled nervously. "No need. Pit's resting peacefully in the next bed over!"

Dark Pit dropped the man and quickly made way towards the bed to make sure. He was overtaken by relief to see that Pit was ok. Dr. Mario dusted himself off.

"Besides, if he was really dead, you'd know. Wouldn't you?"

"..." Dark Pit realized his mistake and heaved out a heavy sigh. "Sorry. I'm really tired."

"I understand... what I don't get is what happened over there..." Dr. Mario picked up the blood-covered feather he dropped during Dark Pit's assault.

"It's almost completely red. But I think I see a bit of blue."

Dark Pit picked up the bag of food he dropped. "Is that so? The only dude I know around here with blue feathers is Falco. Haven't seen him around lately, though."

"Could he have been killed here?" Dr. Mario took a blood sample. "I could ask Jeff to identify whose blood this may be."

"You could." Dark Pit didn't seem to care all that much. Too much is already going on in this mansion and all he wants to do is eat with his twin. Dark Pit took a doughnut out of the bag and waved it in front of Pit's face. "Get up."

From the smell of food, Pit opened his eyes, dazed. He eventually sat up and processed his surroundings, gladly taking the doughnut. "Huh... guess it was just a bad nightmare."

"What nightmare?" Dark Pit narrowed his eyes, but Pit just smiled.

"I'm fine, Pittoo. I just had a weird dream where Falco was ripping Bowser's kid limb by limb. Well, technically he was cutting him but you get the point. At first I thought he was performing surgery, but he started gouging out the poor kid's eyes... I tried to stop him, but he had this unnatural strength and he choked me to near death. Then he threw me out of the infirmary. I don't remember anything after that."

Dark Pit's eyes widened and Dr. Mario poked his head from behind the divider. "That was no dream, but you did just help us figure out what happened."

"What?" Pit raised an eyebrow and took a bite of the doughnut.

"I found you outside of my workplace when I arrived here. Upon walking inside, I noticed a rather gruesome scene in front of me, with a single feather as evidence pointing to Falco."

"What?!" Pit stopped eating, frozen in shock. "You're lying, right? This is a joke, isn't it?"

Dr. Mario moved to divider to reveal to Pit the very scene where he witnessed Falco's deeds.

Before he could speak, an announcement from Master Hand sounded over the intercom.

"Attention all fighters. Report to the storage room. All fighters report to the storage room... NOW! Further explanation will be received when we reach the basement."

There was no time for answers when it came to Master Hand.

"Alrighty then. I hope you little monsters are ready to die." The Masked Man clapped his hands together, smiling maliciously.

In his office of luxurious velvet carpet and chairs, dimming candle lights, and one messy and expensive mahogany desk, a large electric cage of Koopalings was most certainly unfitting. Which is exactly why he must get rid of them. The Masked Man stood next to the transporter at the office's doorway. The doorway is just for show, for nothing resides on the other side than pure nothingness. This office, in fact, used to belong to Master and Crazy Hand, but that changed when the Mansion was rebuilt for Brawl.

The Koopalings huddled up in fear of what's to come through the transporter. With a raising of a metal hand, the Masked Man grinned.

"I'd like you all to say hello to your new and improved brother. I'd like to call him… Junior 2.0. Now… This transporter is usually one-sided for my safety, but I decided to reprogram it for this special occasion. I hope you like him!"

From the transporter came Bowser Jr. However, this was no longer the spoiled little kid his siblings knew. A few of his limbs were replaced with robotic prosthetics, his eyes covered by goggles with glowing yellow lenses, and blood still soaked from the sloppily attached robotic parts. His form was far from lively. If anything, he seemed to be on the verge of death. Junior limped forward a little bit, almost falling over in the process. The Masked Man chuckled.

"I apologize for the sloppiness. I just didn't have the time and energy to put him together myself. But just as long as he gets rid of you, it'll be fine."

"Why can't you just kill us yourself?" Iggy snarled at the Masked Man. "It would take a lot less time and effort!"

"Now where's the fun in that? It's much more entertaining to watch you get killed by your own brother, wouldn't you agree? Junior, why don't go ahead and destroy them?"

"Junior" did as told, firing a laser through his goggles, slicing straight through the metal bars of the cage in a horizontal line. All of the Koopalings ducked, only a few getting their hair cut. Wendy then shouted.

"Now!"

All of the siblings jumped and pushed off the top half of the cage. Junior let out a gargled growl before firing another laser at Larry. Lemmy pushed him out of the way, luckily avoiding the shot by only an inch. Morton charged at his robotic brother, but was pulled away by Roy.

"Idiot! He'll kill you!"

Junior fired at both of them, but they quickly separated and jumped away.

The Masked Man simply watched, grinning all the while. Even so, he was a little upset that his carpet was getting burnt.

Wendy climbed up onto the desk and started throwing anything she could at Junior. Paperweights, spare robot parts, pens, and even a laptop. Anything else she could find went flying at Junior. Enraged, Junior fired at Wendy. In a panic, Wendy picked up a mirror and deflected the laser.

It didn't hit Junior, but instead the angle reflected the laser at the Masked Man.

The laser went straight through his left eye, or more importantly known as the one that glowed red. After a loud scream of pain, he put his hands up to his face and fell to his knees.

Wendy smiled a little bit before noticing a cooling cup of coffee on the desk. Junior's so poorly put together… This should work. She set down the mirror and took the coffee cup. As Junior was trying his best to shoot the others, Wendy whistled at him.

"Hey, Metal Face! Too weak to fight a girl?"

Junior turned towards her and fired another laser. Wendy jumped away and threw the coffee right into Junior's goggles. The liquid soaked through, and soon enough Junior began to short-circuit. The Koopalings all froze, watching as both their brother and captor collapsed on the ground. Junior trembled and growled until he could no longer move. After a very tense moment of silence, the Masked Man stood up, decrepit. A hole now took place of his robotic eye. With his remaining good eye, he glared at the scene before him, as if processing something.

The Koopalings all stared at Wendy. Then Lemmy began to tear up.

"Is he… is he dead?"

Wendy stopped smiling when she just realized what she'd done. "I… I had to stop him… I'm sorry."

The Masked Man finally spoke. "You little brats! I outta pound you into small piles of flesh!" He grabbed Roy by his neck with the metal arm. "Starting with you!"

Roy was fortunately saved from an inevitable death when the laptop Wendy threw off the desk made a notification sound. Then, from the computer was the sound of Master Hand shouting from some sort of video chat.

"Masked Man, we've hacked into your system! Reveal yourself before I come over there myself!"

The Masked Man dropped Roy and picked up the laptop, setting it down on the desk. "M-Master Hand! … And everyone else... "

On the laptop's screen were not only the Hands, but also every living fighter and assist, all packed up in the basement. Even the handcuffed and chained down Snake, Wolf, and Dry Bowser were present. At the sight of his children in the background, Dry Bowser was overcome with relief.

"Is that our old office?" Master Hand almost sounded a little happy. "Ah, it is. Then we know exactly how to get to you."

The Masked Man, for the first time, looked terrified. In the basement audience, Megaman smiled. So this is the complex feeling of satisfaction…

Raising both hands, of metal and of flesh, the Masked Man smiled nervously. "I surrender. But if I come down there myself, do you promise not to hurt me?" After all, what more could he do?

"Only if you promise not to hurt anyone down here."

"It's a deal."

Roy chuckled. "Oh how the tables have turned. Looks like you die tonight."

The Masked Man glared at Roy. "I technically won't be breaking any promises if I hurt you up here."

Roy stayed quiet and stepped aside. With loss of all hope, the Masked Man stepped on the transporter and selected the basement. Once he appeared there, the Koopalings followed one by one, ready to reunite with their father.

Wendy stopped to give Junior one last glance. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She simply walked up onto the transporter with the others.

Before the Masked Man could reveal himself, Master Hand allowed the Koopa family to reunite. Even though Bowser couldn't hug his children, he nuzzled them. He couldn't smile, nor could he cry or speak, but it was clear to his kids how he felt. They all embraced their father, some crying while others stayed silent.

And Dry Bowser didn't even know he could feel such warmth in this skeletal form.

After they all departed from the hug, Dry Bowser noticed his oldest son's absence. He tried to ask where Junior was, but it only came out as a few grunts and growls. His children fortunately understood him, but they didn't answer, staring at the floor. Dry Bowser's eye sockets widened in panic. Then he just hung his head low. Master Hand sighed.

"I guess they can't all be saved… Masked Man, it's time."

Said man chuckled. "Knowing who I am will change nothing!"

"Take off the helmet, or die." Master Hand wasn't going to let this man get to him.

"Ok… But I'm only warning you that the man I once was… doesn't exist!" After a small laughing fit, the Masked Man shorted out a little before coming to his senses. "Anyway… I guess it's over." After short-circuiting once more, he removed his helmet.

The basement was entirely silent.

In the crowd, Marth was the one to push through to the front, his eyes filled with denial and fear. He approached the now unmasked man, holding back his tears.

"Anata wa... Anata wa shinde imasu... Anata wa shinde imasu!" ("You… You're dead… You're dead!")

CHAPTER 4 END

 **Hey there. I've noticed that this story doesn't really get much attention here. If anything, my old stories get more attention... Am I doing something wrong? If so, reviews with constructive critisism would be highly appreciated! For those that bothered to read this far, thank you.**


	5. Red

_Why am I here? It's dark... Dad...? Anyone?_

* * *

"You've got a lot of explaining to do, punk." Master Hand finally spoke after his stunned silence. Marth was already on his knees, sobbing into his hands and repeating "Anata wa shinde imasu..." over and over again. The Masked Man just so happened to be the killer of Pichu, former lover of Marth, and young lion himself: Roy.

Roy chuckled. "Well, for starters..." He kneeled down in front of Marth, giving him an empty smile. "I think it's pretty clear that I'm not dead. Roy himself no longer exists, I suppose. He was always so kind, was he not? Always putting his friends before himself. Such a shame he supposedly killed Pichu."

"What do you mean 'supposedly'?" Master Hand growled. Roy just laughed in response.

"Do you think I have any memories from that old, worn-out Roy? I only know that he didn't do it."

"Roy, Pichu was on the ground, skewered by _your_ sword. _Your_ fingerprints were the only ones on the weapon and _you_ were the only one who was at the crime scene and didn't have an alibi."

"Aye, it's tragic how much evidence piled up against him." Roy grinned a little before placing a hand on Marth's shoulder. "Don't cry. That's not like you, Hero King. If it makes you feel any better, the Roy you knew and loved is long dead."

Marth only sobbed harder.

"Roy, stop making Marth cry."

"I can't control his tears, Master Hand."

Master Hand groaned. "Why are you still alive?"

"If I remembered, I'd tell you." Roy just kept on grinning. "Besides, 14 years have passed since then. Wouldn't your memory be a little foggy?"

"Um... I don't mean to interrupt but... what happened on the day Roy died?" Rosalina, of all fighters, was all too curious about Roy's death. Master Hand didn't seem to remember either, so he stayed silent. No one stepped forward to talk about it... and then Ness cleared his throat.

"I r-remember it..."

 _Flashback_

 _The fighters were all gathered together in the basement. Assists weren't allowed in, but were still forced to watch on video. The shorter characters and closest friends to the executionee were placed up front, of course. Ness sat next to Marth, forced to make full eye contact with a chained down Roy._

 _Fortunately for them, Roy was only making eye contact with the floor, occasionally making a weak attempt to break through the chains and get out of the executionee's chair._

 _Master Hand made a speech about how this is "what happens when a fighter kills his fellow competitors outside the battlefield." Ness wasn't listening, but instead staring at Marth._

 _The man was only looking at Roy with a rather unreadable expression. Disappointment? Agony? Feigned confidence? Perhaps it was all three. Ness had no time to find out, for Master Hand broke him from his thoughts._

 _"Mario, whenever you're ready."_

 _Said executioner wordlessly pressed the gun against Roy's head, but seemed to hesitate. Then he smiled._

 _"Any final wishes, Roy?"_

 _Roy couldn't speak English, so he didn't reply. Instead, he finally made eye contact with Marth._

 _And he smiled._

 _Marth only glared back at him._

 _And Mario pulled the trigger._

 _The gunshot rang throughout the basement. Roy went completely limp... and Mario removed his now bloodied and gunpowdered glove. The blood from the shot hit some in the front row._

 _Marth..._

 _Ness..._

 _Pikachu..._

 _All of them were frozen. Marth was the first to slowly raise his hand to his cheek and wipe off some blood. Ness did the same, staring at his hands afterwards. He may have witnessed the embodiment of evil itself... but something about this seemed so much worse._

 _He turned towards Pikachu. The Pokemon didn't wipe off the blood. He just stood absolutely still._

 _No movement..._

 _No emotion..._

 _No forgiveness..._

 _Afterwards, Master Hand dismissed the fighters cheerfully as if no one was killed in that basement. Everyone picked up their chairs and left._

 _Everyone except Mario, who was on cleanup duty. Ness was the last to leave._

 _Marth was the first._

"And that's how I remember it. With _that_ gunshot, I don't think he would've… survived." Ness was choking up by the end of the story.

Still, everything was silent. Roy's working eye widened a little. "So that's how I -no- he died." Roy paused, noticing that Marth's sobbing came to an abrupt stop.

"Marth?"

Marth slowly yet soundlessly gazed up at Roy. Even though his eyes were puffy from his tears, he had that same glare that Roy last witnessed before death.

It was coming to him. Roy smiled back at Marth, but this one was from pain rather than amusement.

"I remember now."

"Them please share." Master Hand snapped, getting more and more impatient with the swordsman.

Roy opened his mouth to speak, but only hissed in pain and grabbed at his hair. "Agh! These headaches!" He shorted out once again before slowly standing back up. He stumbled a little, then he began to growl between clenched teeth. "Hnng... No.. I shouldn't remember. This is not the same Roy you've seen before!" He shorted out again, but this time he only smiled afterwards.

"Ah... see? Your Roy is not coming back."

Master Hand started to lose his temper, readying himself to grab Roy and kill him himself. But then Ludwig interrupted.

"Hey, Roy."

Roy Koopa looked up, but then realized who his brother was really talking to.

"Oh, the little turtle wants to talk." Roy grinned.

Ludwig was having none of it. "Where's Junior?"

Dry Bowser looked up in shock, but still couldn't talk.

"What do you mean? You all killed him back in that office. Sad, y'know? I'm surprised you were so eager to kill him. And you seemed so indifferent about his transformation. It was a little unsettling, honestly." Roy was a little nervous at his very last statement. It was Ludwig's turn to grin.

'That's because we know that wasn't Junior."

"What?"

"Don't pretend you're a completely heartless man." Wendy smiled knowingly. Roy just raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know?"

"Our brother is one of a kind, and we know how fond you were of him when you held him captive."

"Why on earth would I care about that little brat?"

"Well, you never hurt him, and you never put him in the cage with us… And let's not forget that you actually took care of him in Dad's place." Morton scowled a little. "Picking favorites is awfully rude, y'know?"

"Before we were all invited, Master Hand considered only making clones of Junior with different colors." Iggy pushed up his glasses. "He only made one clone and threw it out when he realized there were eight of us. I suppose you found him and rebuilt him from his unconscious body."

"But how did you realize he was different? His color change was far too subtle to notice." Roy was beginning to panic.

"We didn't realize the difference. You just talk a lot when you drink." Lemmy teased. "And you couldn't hold your liquor very well last night."

Roy groaned and ran his metal hand through his hair. "This is why I'll never have kids..."

"Enough. Roy, I couldn't care less if Junior was still alive right now. What we need to know is why you're still here!" Master Hand was being even more impatient. His crazed twin giggled a little, but did nothing else. Roy just smiled.

"Perhaps the injustice you spread upon this old mansion was enough to keep me alive."

"What are you talking about?!" Master Hand began to radiate a dark aura. Some of the fighters moved away to steer clear of the building rage.

"Oh, you know. By now you should realize that your trials are not very fair."

"Roy, must I list this evidence to you again?"

"Anyone can wield that sword. It's only a replica. Plus, there were shoe prints at the crime scene that didn't match my own, blood that was spilled that didn't belong to Pichu, and the entire mass of fighters who don't have an alibi. In fact, you only interviewed Mewtwo, the first witness."

"And you know about this how? I thought you didn't remember."

"Fourteen years is enough time to look through the smash records, is it not?"

Master Hand would narrow his eyes if he had a pair.

"You didn't even give a fair trial. I had no lawyer, you didn't list all of the evidence, and you ignored anyone who didn't think I was guilty."

Dark Pit widened his eyes while Palutena smirked. "Doesn't that sound familiar, Master Hand? And as far as we can tell, you almost put an innocent angel to death last time you did that."

Master Hand froze, which only made Roy grin wider.

"Oh, and let's not forget Roy's head wounds. He was assaulted from behind with something too heavy for Pichu. It was ignored, with the investigator's excuse being 'We couldn't see the blood in his hair.' The records truly are an entertaining read."

In his rage, Master Hand screamed and grabbed Roy.

" _Shut up_! You know nothing of justice, murderer!" The hand threw Roy across the basement and watched as the swordsman crashed into the wall and collapsed on the ground.

All eyes were on Master Hand. And Crazy Hand began to laugh hysterically. Master Hand turned towards his twin and snapped at him.

"WHAT? WHAT IS SO FUNNY?"

Crazy Hand's laugh settled down to a snicker, then he finally spoke.

"I just think it's funny because... heheh... I'm supposed to be the crazy one."

Master Hand was suddenly still.

Marth dashed up to the injured criminal, kneeling down next to him. In a panic, he tried shaking Roy awake. Slowly, Roy raised his head. "J-justice, huh? You'd know not a damn thing about that." Roy flinched and shorted out, then closed his good eye as his body went limp. Marth tried shaking him awake again, but to no avail.

Pikachu, however, still wanted answers about his son's death. He squeezed through to the front of the crowd and used thunderbolt on Roy. "Pika… CHU! … Pika?"

Marth quickly stepped in the way and took the hit. Despite the power of the shock, Marth still stood his ground.

"Kare o kizutsukeru shinaide kudasai! Kare wa jūbun ni atte imasu!" (Do not hurt him! He's had enough!) Pikachu growled and tried thunderbolt again, this time striking both of them. Marth, unable to take the second shock, fell to his knees. And Roy sat straight up and screamed. When he recovered, he first noticed Marth, then he glared at Pikachu.

"Why'd you do that?"

"He wants answers, and prematurely dying will do you no good." Master Hand still hasn't calmed down, but he wants to know Roy's side of the story just as much as Pikachu does. Roy sighed in defeat and held his head, once again shorting out.

"After… After everyone left, Mario dragged me somewhere. I couldn't see… too much blood… too much pain…"

"Full sentences, _Clone_." Master Hand sounded almost disgusted when he uttered that last word. Dark Pit snarled at the Hand, but Pit held him back.

"The pain… I felt so much pain, but at the same time I felt nothing. Fading… Reality was fading. I passed out a lot. But when I finally woke up permanently, I had the worst headache. My vision was red, but not from blood. I had some kind of scanner. The area… I was on the floor. Standing above me was Mario. I asked him if I was dead, and he only responded with 'Take a look at yourself and tell me.' When I did, I noticed my left arm. It was robotic. When I looked at Mario, he laughed and explained everything.

 _'You ain't the Roy you once were. You're better, stronger, smarter. There's only one thing left for ya, and that's your allegiance ta me. I know ya didn't kill Pichu, so be grateful I kept you alive. From here on out, you'll take orders from me. If you refuse, both you and Marth will be in a ton a' trouble, capisce? My first order a' business... is that you start speakin' English.'_

So I listened. I didn't really have much of a choice. I was willing to die, but when he mentioned Marth, that was where I drew the line. He gave me that helmet, told me to stay low, and took me through the basement transporter to the Hands' old 64 office. He then set out tons of equipment in front of me and told me to develop a mind control device with the knowledge he programmed into me. It wasn't much... barely enough for me to learn English. But after fourteen years, I came up with something: a parasite. One that can weaken the mind and use the body as a capsule." Roy made full eye contact with Pit. "I'm sorry, little angel. I just needed a tester."

Pit just smiled at Roy. Dark Pit, on the other hand, stepped forward and threw a fit. "Sorry's not enough for what you put him through! Stop trying to make yourself a victim! _You_ did this! And _you_ should've died from that gunshot, asshole! None of this would've... happened..." He trailed off when Pit placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Pittoo..."

"Yeah, actually, if Mario just finished you off, then Megaman wouldn't be in this state." Samus interrupted. Megaman tilted his head. "Am I not in my truest state?"

Samus sighed.

"Also, Wario wouldn't be dead!" Waluigi clenched his fists. Zelda joined in.

"Ganondorf would also still be here! And just when he and Link were finally starting to get along..."

Soon enough, the basement was filled with noise, everyone shouting at Roy, save for a few. Roy just stared at the ground, taking in every single rage induced shout. He bit his lip and tried not to acknowledge them. In the flurry of voices, he heard Marth speak softly, lifting his chin.

"Anata wa watashi no tame ni sore o shimashita ka?" (You did that for me?)

"I was the only one who needed to die." Roy mumbled. Marth shook his head. "Baka." (Fool.)

Finally, Master Hand silenced the basement with one huge "QUIET!" Everyone quickly obeyed. "If we all agree to give Roy the benefit of the doubt and reopen his case, then we will. I wish to prove to him that I am a being of justice. All who wish to reopen his case, raise your hand, paw, or what-have-you."

No one but Marth did so at first, but then Pit raised his hand. "If my verdict was incorrect, then maybe Roy's was." Palutena and Viridi then joined him, raising their hands. Dark Pit hesitated, but then he noticed the look on Pit's face.

He was still in pain, yet he still gave Roy a second chance. Perhaps Roy is sincere. Dark Pit raised his hand.

Ness and Lucas raised their hands, and so did Jeff. Dr. Mario raised his hand, which inspired Luigi to do so too. The green plumber wondered why his brother didn't follow, but it didn't matter. The three victims to Pit's assault, Lucina, Little Mac, and Kirby, all raised hands. Samus raised her hand, and Megaman followed. The Koopa family all joined in, Bowser trying his best against the chains that held him down. Wolf and Snake did so as well, seeing it as an opportunity to stay out of their jail cells a little longer. Soon enough, nearly everyone had their hands raised, save for Pikachu and Mario. Master Hand was surprised to say the least.

"Well, all but two of you are for it. If either one of you join in, then we will hold the trial tomorrow."

All eyes were on the Pokemon and the plumber. Mario absolutely refused, but Pikachu was fidgeting nervously, as if he was considering it. Ness walked towards Pikachu.

"Hey... I know you're mad about Pichu. But if you want true justice to be done, you'll try to find the whole truth and the real killer. I'm not asking this as your trainer. I'm asking this as a friend..."

Pikachu slowly raised his paw. Master Hand snapped his fingers. "Then it is decided. We will hold trial in this basement tomorrow after breakfast. Crazy and I will set up overnight. As for you all, take the rest of the day off from fighting. Mewtwo, Mario, Pikachu... Crazy will interrogate you at Final Destination in an hour. Now leave! All of you!"

The basement was soon cleared out.

* * *

Nighttime in the Smash mansion was always peaceful. When some were asleep, others stayed up at the food court. Only one place is open at night, and that is the bar. Elec Man and Midna work there. While Elec Man cleans and takes orders, Midna mixes the drinks. After the events of the past three days, Dark Pit visited this bar for the first time ever.

"Haven't seen you here. Usually your twin's here. Whadaya want?" Elec Man asked with a smirk as he cleaned a glass. Dark Pit glared at the wooden bar table as he mumbled his order.

"Red wine..."

"Just like your twin, huh? On a good day he'll order a margarita."

"Just give me my drink." Dark Pit set a few gold coins on the table. Elec Man whistled as he picked up the money and shouted back at Midna. "Red wine! And stat! This one's had a bad day!" He then silently continued to clean that same cup. It was spotless by now, but it wasn't like Elec Man had anything better to do.

"You do not reach the sufficient age for drinking. My facial scanners read that you are only twelve years of age."

Dark Pit forgot that Megaman was sitting next to him. That robot was always a little unsettling, but now he was worse thanks to Pit.

"Ah, no. I'm plenty old enough to drink."

"And how old do you claim you are, Pit?"

"I'm not- ugh. I'm technically three years old in this dimension-"

"That's far too young for you to be drinking. You should go to sleep instead."

"I'm just as old as Pit!"

"You are Pit, are you not?"

"No, I'm Dark Pit."

"My facial scanners say-"

"Your facial scanners are wrong!" Dark Pit huffed and went back to glaring at the table. Elec Man set the wine down in front of him.

"Enjoy! I even put a little umbrella in it. Since Pit likes it so much, I figured you would too."

Dark Pit wanted to scream. He wanted to stand up, throw the glass back, and tell them he isn't Pit. But he didn't have the energy. He just mumbled a quiet thanks and drank. Megaman narrowed his eyes.

"Alcohol is not good for a developing child."

"Listen, robot. I've been alive for hundreds of years. I have far surpassed drinking age, ok?"

"Humans do not have a lifespan that large."

"I'm not human. I'm an angel."

"Angels do not exist."

Dark Pit groaned and took another sip. He didn't even like alcohol. That was Pit's thing. But he needed something... anything to get his mind off of what occurred in the infirmary.

"What are you even doing here? You're a robot. You can't drink."

"I'm getting my monthly oil change." Megaman took a sip from his own drink. Dark Pit heaved out a heavy sigh when he realized that the black liquid in Megaman's cup was far from alcoholic.

He began to think about Roy. He's also a clone... Master Hand clearly despised him for that very reason. Did Marth fight to get him into Smash?

It was all too familiar.

CHAPTER 5 END

* * *

 **I meant to apologize for my Google translate Japanese earlier, but eh. Not like anyone really noticed.**

 **About the reviews, I guess you guys just don't have much to say, and that's perfectly fine! Thanks to the guests, btw. You guys are cool. Thanks for reading! I hope to finish this before school starts for me, so stay tuned.**


	6. The Verdict

The courtroom was set up in the food court, much to the surprise and dismay of the hungry fighters. As they were fixing up court in the basement, Crazy Hand noticed a strange concentration of radioactive material in the air. Considering the weapons they deal with, it's not very surprising, but still too dangerous. So now the trial was moved to the food court. The restaurants weren't open yet, which would lead to a very, very angry jury.  
The cafeteria tables were repositioned into pews, italian cuisine restaurant in the center redecorated into a judge's chair, and spare boxes repainted for the defense and prosecution to slam their fists onto if necessary. The tired fighters and late risers were soon stumbling into the food court, hoping for breakfast, but only being greeted with what looked like a school mock trial.  
Dark Pit and Pit both had a sleepless night, both a bit grouchy. Pit still smiled at passers by, but it was very easy to tell it was forced. Everyone still stood confusedly and sleepily around the food courtroom, excluding the Wii Fit Trainers, who already had their morning jogs around the mansion. It was, predictably, Pac-Man who complained aloud about the lack of food.  
"Why are all the restaurants closed?"  
"Same reason the bar was closed last night." King DeDeDe grumbled, upset he couldn't get his late night drink. Kirby also made a noise of heavy disapproval. An uproar started in the food courtroom, everyone fussing about not having breakfast.  
Then Master Hand floated into the room in a particularly good mood. Following him were the handcuffed prisoners Roy, Snake, and Wolf. Following them were the lawyers, Mario as the prosecution, Ike and Marth as the defense. And trailing behind them all was an exhausted Jeff, hands full of evidence and paperwork. Crazy Hand, however, was nowhere to be seen. Master Hand made himself comfortable at the "judge's chair" while the others took their places at the makeshift desks.  
"Order." Master Hand started rather quietly. The uproar did not settle, therefore sparking the hidden early morning anger within Master Hand.  
"ORDER!"  
Everyone immediately and quietly sat down in the "pews." Wolf and Snake had a special place right next to Charizard, a rather fierce guard. Wolf complained under his breath about not getting to sit down, which triggered Charizard to flash her teeth at him and puff up smoke. Wolf shut his mouth while Snake smirked a little bit. Charizard grinned to herself, a little proud.  
Roy was luckily allowed to sit down… next to the prosecution. Mario sent dirty looks towards the defense as he stepped on poor Roy's foot. Marth sent the dirtier looks back. Roy tried to ignore his pain.  
Ike sighed.  
Master Hand cleared his nonexistent throat to get everyone's attention. "This isn't gonna be a very official trial. Some rules won't apply here. This isn't Ace Attorney, and no, we are not inviting Phoenix Wright to join us."  
Sonic held his head low in disappointment.  
"No one here has a law degree, but I only allowed those who read the Terms and Conditions to this game to be lawyers anyway. I don't trust that Marth really understood them, though."  
"Watashi wa eigo o rikai suru koto ga dekimasu…" (I can understand English...) Marth then grumbled, "Gesu yarō…" (Asshole…)  
"What did he say?!" Master Hand snapped. Everyone who  
understand Japanese (Ness, Lucas, everyone from Fire Emblem, Peach) tried to hold in their laughs. Ike translated, editing the parts that were more... eloquently put. "He said he understands English, but prefers not to speak it."  
"Well, I guess that's ok. Anyway, court is now in session for the trial of Roy for the murder of Pichu. Is the prosecution ready?"  
Mario lowered his hat. "Let's-a go…"  
"Is the defense ready?"  
Ike grinned. "The defense… will fight for-."  
"Shinaide kudasai." (Please don't.) Marth put a hand up to Ike's mouth. Master Hand continued.  
"Here's the case summary: Fourteen years ago, Pichu was murdered in this very room. His estimated time of death was around 4:30 am, cause of death being a lethal stab wound in the chest. The murder weapon was the Sword of Seals replica, too heavy for most fighters to wield outside of a reality distorting battlefield. The scene of the crime showed evidence of a struggle, and the leading suspect, Roy was injured at the scene. The prosecution may call their first witness."  
"The prosecution calls Mewtwo to the stand." Mario had this aura of confidence that made the defense rather nervous. "Might I remind you that Mewtwo's testimony fourteen years ago did not benefit Roy's case. I'm only doing this to humor you."  
Mewtwo rolled his eyes as he stepped up to the witness stand. Lucario got the job as bailiff, among all other extra courtroom roles, stood next to Mewtwo. "Raise your right appendage."  
Mewtwo did as told.  
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you Arceus?"  
"Sure."  
Lucario sighed. "That'll do." He understood just as well that Mewtwo wanted to be anywhere but up on that stand.  
"Witness state your name and occupation." Mario decided to start with the formalities.  
"..." Mewtwo glared at him, since the answer was obvious. Mario cleared his throat.  
"You may begin your testimony."  
Mewtwo sighed. "I was assigned to open up the food court that morning at 5 am, since, at the time, the food court had a closing and opening time, no 24 hour bar. When I arrived, I saw Pichu dead on the floor and Roy only a few feet away. He was unconscious. I immediately contacted Master Hand afterwards. That's it."  
Everyone was silent. Then Ike cleared his throat. "Don't you think that's a little… vague?"  
"It's what I saw."  
"About him being unconscious, it says here in the records that he was bludgeoned with something too heavy for Pichu. What do you have to say about that?"  
Mewtwo shrugged. "Look, I didn't do anything to the crime scene. I didn't hurt Roy. I didn't wake him up. And I didn't waste any time getting the authorities to handle it. Sorry I can't help you. Now can we avoid pointless questions so we can eat breakfast?"  
Ike grit his teeth before looking at Master Hand.  
"We've no further questions, Your Honor."  
Mewtwo floated back to the jury, sitting in between Ness and Lucas.  
"Good. There are no other witnesses to this case other than the defendant himself, so would the prosecution or defense wish to send him up?"  
Mario grinned. "The prosecution sees no reason why not." Ike and Marth made no objections either. The only person who seemed against it was Roy himself. Once he was up on the stand, Lucario started the formalities.  
"Do you swear to-"  
"I plead the fifth!" Roy panicked, but Master Hand just laughed.  
"Roy, by law, you're deceased. A dead man has no true rights."  
"Then you shouldn't give me the death sentence!"  
"Roy, law works differently here, especially in your case. We're only doing this because we want to see whether or not you're guilty of  
crime. You're still guilty of the deaths of Wario and Ganondorf. Not to mention your inhumane experiments on Pit, Fox, Falco, and Junior's clone without written permission. Oh yeah, and you're responsible for holding children hostage, driving Bowser's suicide, and Lucario's head injuries. Don't you  
say you're not a dead man."  
Roy stared at the floor. "Then I'll testify. I swear to tell the truth. There's nothing to lose, anyway."  
"Good, because you're not gonna lie. Mewtwo, Ness, and Lucas can read minds. They'll call you out on a lie.  
None of the mentioned three wanted to admit that they can't actually read Roy's mind, given that half his brain is advanced computer programming. And that half is partially destroyed...  
"Witness, begin your testimony." With the look Mario was giving him, it almost seemed like Roy was told to hide something.  
"Well… I was doing an overnight training session in my room when Pichu hopped in. I usually leave the door unlocked since, as my best friend and training partner, Pichu visited me a lot."  
"I thought Marth was your best friend and training partner." Master Hand would raise an eyebrow if he had such a thing.  
"N-no… He was a little more than that…" Roy blushed a little before clearing his throat and continuing.  
"He was really jumpy that night, almost as if he was worried about something. He motioned for me to follow him, and only panicked when I told him I was busy. He even started to pull at my leg. So I sheathed my sword and followed him. We stopped in the food court, where he seemed to be looking for something… He looked at me, gasped, then… I actually don't remember what happened past that point. I woke up in a jail cell after a guard poured water on me."  
"Really? How convenient you don't remember the moment you mercilessly stabbed Pichu. His poor little body was nearly sliced entirely in half. You monster." Mario narrowed his eyes at Roy. "Tell, the truth." Mario mouthed something to Roy, which was a motion that Ike caught, but didn't mention. Roy suddenly looked nervous.  
"Actually… I do remember! It's all coming to me! I killed Pichu… I stabbed him right through the heart, and it felt wonderful." Roy forced a sick grin. "His screams were the best part. So sad to see something so cute go so fast, but it was the most satisfying thing I've ever experienced."  
Ness, Lucas, and Mewtwo said in unison: "He's lying."  
"Is he? Roy, slander is not appreciated in the courtroom!" Master Hand snapped for the third time that day. "Tell the truth."  
Roy glanced at Mario again, only to get a throat-cutting gesture from the plumber. Roy gulped. "N-no, I'm telling the truth. I killed him. Can we end this trial now? I was stupidly wasting your time."  
"Liar." The three psychics once again said in unison. Even without mind reading, they could easily tell when Roy was lying. In fact, Roy was a very terrible liar. Master Hand growled, about to shout at Roy, but then Ike spoke first.  
"Roy… Don't worry about it. Just trust us to find out the truth for you. I promise you it'll be ok."  
Roy, for the first time in fourteen years, actually smiled. It was weak, but still a smile nonetheless.  
"Alright. I'll tell the truth." He paused for a moment. "I made no conscious decision to kill Pichu. However, I don't remember what happened after he gasped at me, honest!"  
None of the psychics made any objections, so Master Hand sighed. "I still find that hard to believe..."  
"What's hard to believe is the fact that he's still alive after that gunshot, but look at him." Ike motioned his hands towards Roy. "Can't you just accept his testimony?"  
"We'll accept it, but it's still not solid evidence on your side. Sorry."  
"Your honor, no matter what angle we take, there's no proving Roy's innocence." Mario crossed his arms. "I say we quit wasting everyone's time!"  
"Yeah, I'm hungry!" King DeDeDe interrupted.  
"This is pointless! You're gonna die anyway!" Olimar snarled from the audience.  
"I have work to do. Shulk and I need to fix the robot that  
forced Pit into ruining!" Samus shouted. Soon enough, everyone in the jury was throwing a fit. In the chaos, some stayed calm. Luigi twiddled his thumbs nervously while those surrounding him rioted. Then he remembered something.  
"Uh… I think I have something that can help you…"  
Master Hand only faintly heard him, but stayed silent. The jury began to slowly realize that Master Hand was holding in his anger. They eventually silenced, fearing his quiet but deadly aura. When everyone shut themselves up, Master Hand cleared his throat.  
"Luigi, what is it you have to share?"  
"Well, the day after Roy was executed. I - a found a crowbar under Mario's bed."  
Mario tensed up.  
"It was covered in blood, but I took it anyway. I was gonna ask - a Mario about it, but I was - a scared that he might've hurt someone… So I just kept it without ever finding out whose blood it might - a be."  
Mario narrowed his eyes, but still didn't say anything. Master Hand then said, surprised, "Why didn't you mention that earlier? We could analyze the blood and see whose it may be! If it's Roy's, then we have solid evidence pointing towards Mario."  
"I didn't think it was that relevant…" Luigi stared at the floor, rubbing his arm.  
"Then we'll take a 30 minute recess. Jeff, go with Luigi to get that crowbar and test it."  
Jeff reluctantly got out of his seat and followed Luigi out of the food courtroom. Master Hand turned towards the rest of the jury. "Well, I suppose you're allowed to eat now. Don't make a mess. Make sure Roy doesn't escape. And Dr. Mario... Get a blood sample from Roy." And with that, he left.  
A wave of relief hit the jury, everyone standing and heading towards the the various restaurants. Assist trophies began to man their restaurants as the lines formed. Sadly, the italian cuisine was not available. Dr. Mario, prepared as always, took a syringe from his pockets and approached Roy. However, Roy didn't respond very kindly to the needle. Still handcuffed, he seemed about ready to fight and run. It took plenty of reassuring words and Ike's strength to hold Roy down and get a successful blood sample. Dr. Mario left to give the sample to Jeff.  
Pit returned to his seat after getting a large order of donuts, which he intended to eat on his own until he noticed Dark Pit's staring. "You want some?"  
"No. I'm not hungry." Dark Pit got up and left Pit to eat on his own. After Roy reluctantly let Dr. Mario take the sample, Dark Pit walked up to him.  
"Question. You're a clone, right?"  
"Yeah? Marth was the one who trained me and -"  
"Master Hand clearly hates clones, so how did you get in?"  
"Marth fought to get me in. That's why I'm forever in his debt."  
"Why? It was just a battle. We fight Master Hand all the time."  
"Yes, but not many fight him when he is at full power. It's much more difficult. The stages are even fixed so you feel all of the pain of reality, but don't die. And then there's Mario…" He shuddered, but didn't go any further in explaining Mario's role. "It takes a lot to get an uninvited fighter in… You're a clone of Pit, are you not? You should be grateful he fought to get you into this."  
Dark Pit didn't respond. He just looked at Roy for a short moment before shaking his head and heading back towards his seat. Pit offered another donut to him, which he declined again.  
"Why… do you do things like this?"  
"What do you mean?" Pit said with his mouth full.  
"Why do you keep being nice to me? Doing things for me? I don't remember doing anything for you that deserves your kindness."  
"But -"  
"And don't say I do deserve it, cause I really don't."  
"..." Pit turned away and ate another donut to avoid answering the question.  
"I just don't understand your motives. Are you hoping for something in return? I don't have anything! Why do you care?!" Dark Pit stood at that last sentence.  
"If…" Pit gulped. "If I were to suddenly appear in a new, unfamiliar dimension… I would want at least one person out there to care."  
"Well I'm not you. So cut it out." Dark Pit sat back down in a huff. Even though he appeared to be angry, he felt a dull pain in his chest from guilt. And next to him, Pit silently stared at the floor, suddenly losing his appetite.  
With food and energy, the jury was finally satisfied to sit through a trial. Everyone migrated back to their seats before Master Hand, Dr. Mario, Jeff, and Luigi even returned. When they did, the evidence was confirmed. Master Hand returned to the judge's chair while Jeff made himself comfortable at the witness's podium. A little too short, he had to get a small crate to stand on before he spoke.  
"We tried matching the blood on the crowbar with every fighter from melee. The results show that the blood does indeed belong to Roy. Not only that, but the records show that Roy sustained a head injury from something too heavy for Pichu, which is a description the crowbar seems to fit. There were absolutely no fingerprints on it, but it certainly was not wiped or cleaned since the blood was still present. The culprit of the assault on Roy would have to have been wearing gloves."  
"There's no denying it. Mario, are you responsible for this?"  
"Absolutely not! How do you know that my blackheart of a brother isn't pinning his crime on me?"  
"Because Luigi had an alibi. That night was the night where he vacuumed the lobby. He vacuumed and cleansed the place of ghosts all night. He can't be in two places at once."  
"W-well…"  
"Mario, you need to be honest with us."  
Mario sighed. "Well, I didn't want to introduce my involvement in this case but… I did it to keep Pichu safe. Roy was a madman that night. I don't know what came over him. Remember, this was around the time the melee tournaments were ending, and there was a lot of controversy over Roy's return in Brawl. I sent Pichu over to tell Roy I had to give him some good news. Since he fought so well, I was gonna let him know that he was confirmed to return. But when he arrived, he went mad and drew his sword. I quickly got a crowbar from the supply closet near the subway restaurant and whacked him with it! But… when he fell… it was too late. Pichu was dead…"  
Mewtwo, Ness, and Lucas all wanted to call him a liar, but then Ike brought up a valid point.  
"If that's the case, then why didn't you contact Master Hand right away?"  
"I… uh…"  
"Your honor, the prosecution is lying." Ike couldn't hold back a smug grin. Master Hand turned towards the psychics, who all agreed with Ike.  
"Mario? Please tell us the truth. This trial has no need to continue."  
"You'll believe tha words a' two children and an abomination a' life, but not me?" Mario fumed. He tried to calm down, but his true accent was returning to him.  
"Well, yes. These two children have been through enough not to lie. And this 'abomination' has no bias in this case. I have no choice but to believe them."  
Mario clenched his fists, glared at Master Hand, then at Roy. And then he suddenly calmed down. "I guess there's no way out, is there?"  
He paused, the entire jury now silent.  
"I killed Pichu. He was workin' under me for a major plan. I told 'im that he'd be released if he got Roy for me. I needed someone was powerful, but not as strong-willed as Marth. Pichu matched that, but he just couldn't do any heavy liftin'. When that yellow puffball brought 'im over, I realized he might give away info. I had to eliminate him, but I also had ta recruit Roy. So I literally killed two birds with one stone. Tha plan was simple: kill Pichu, get Roy executed, bring 'im back stronger. I made Roy work under me with the weight a' debt, death, and tha fate of his lil lover over there. I gave 'im a bit a' knowledge before giving him one task: mind control. He issued a ton a' experiments on small Pokemon at first. Then he tried Pokemon fighters Squirtle and Ivysaur. It didn't end well, and both died because they couldn't handle da parasite. Poor Roy cried, saying it was 'inhumane' but I quickly reminded 'im why he n' Marth were still alive. And then I told Roy ta make somethin' more primitive. That's where Pit comes in. And it was a huge success, turnin' the angel into a killin' machine. Y'see, there's a reason this fighting game exists."  
Master Hand gasped. "When we founded this place together, it was supposed to be a fun place where gaming's all stars could meet and fight..."  
"That was a lie, ya brainless oven mitt. I needed an army… I needed to fight the hands that truly control us."  
"Nonsense. Crazy and I are the only hands that control here."  
"No, we're all just pawns for the enjoyment a' something bigger!" Mario slammed his fist on the table. "I'm tryin' ta save ya from the hands that control you!"  
Master Hand seemed to panic. "Guards, take Mario and throw him in the prison. I'm having a long talk with him later. Lucario, put Mario's confession in the records."  
The guards, Charizard and Metaknight carried Mario away. Wolf sighed in relief when Charizard left his side, but only grew more nervous when Donkey Kong took her place. Mario surprisingly had nothing to say while he was being carried away. But right before the doors closed, Mario shouted, "You can kill me, but I will no longer live to be a puppet!"  
Once he left, the other fighters almost took his words into consideration.  
Almost.  
Master Hand turned towards Roy. "I should've known he was crazy from the start. Now, what to do with you…"  
Roy smiled. "I'm prepared to die. But… Can I ask to be thrown into Norfair rather than get shot? I don't want any chances of coming back."  
Master Hand was silent for a long moment. Marth turned towards Roy, tears forming in his eyes. "Dō ka watashi o oite ikanaide kudasai…" (Please don't leave me…) He paused. "Watashi wa anata ga futatabi shinu mitaku arimasen!" (I don't want to see you die again!)  
"I thought you had Ike. You two are better for each other anyway. Don't worry about it."  
Marth laughed, but the laugh was weak and unsure. "Kare wa watashi no koibitode wa arimasen." (He isn't my lover.)  
"We're just roommates." Ike smiled at the rather surprised Roy before turning towards Master Hand. "I'm not sure if death is a suitable punishment for Roy's crimes. He seems to be suffering more when alive."  
Master Hand immediately caught on. "Ah, yes. I don't think we should execute you."  
Roy raised a brow as Master Hand continued.  
"However, we need someone to make sure you don't continue your crimes. Marth, you're now assigned to watch over him."  
Marth smiled, but Roy just lowered his gaze to the floor. Despite the outcome of the trial, he didn't feel much better.  
"If I may, Your Honor. I should remind you of my other crimes. Those warrant the death sentence for sure!"  
"Nay, you were under someone else's control, were you not?"  
"But I only did it for my own selfish purposes."  
"Protecting your lover?"  
"In exchange for many other innocent lives."  
"Roy… You seem well aware of your mistakes. Dying only means you're running from them. So a better punishment for the terrible things you did would be living with those mistakes. But if you insist on dying so soon, then I'll ask the jury." Master Hand turned towards the other fighters. "Raise your appendage if you agree to keep Roy alive."  
An uncountable amount of hands, paws, and whatever else rose.  
"And those who oppose Roy's punishment?"  
Not a single fighter opposed.

After the trial ended, Roy was released from his handcuffs and the smashers capable of fighting were sent to the training area, where they readied themselves for the battles to come. Master Hand returned to his old Melee office where the Koopalings were kept, not at all surprised to see Crazy Hand sleeping in there. The room wasn't cleaned up at all, but it still sparked a sense of nostalgia in Master Hand's core.  
"Crazy… I wasn't aware of Mario's true motives until today."  
Crazy Hand seemingly looked up from his sleep, stretching out his fingers. Master Hand continued, "I don't think we're truly in control anymore. So I've been considering a few things…"  
Crazy realized where this was going, suddenly freezing. He made no other response, even as Master Hand uttered his final phrase of the night.  
"I think we should end Smash Brothers for good."

 ***nervous laughter* ... So uh. I didn't finish before school started, obviously. And oh my god lemmie tell ya, advanced math classes will make a girl cry, and then die, and then question her true motivations. I believe this fic is almost over, and I'll try my darndest to get this done before the year is over. I'm sorry for being to late. But at least Thanksgiving break actually WAS a break. Anyway, don't forget to review. Unless you don't want to, then that's ok...**


	7. Goodbyes

After the events of the trial, the fighters quickly recovered. Shulk fixed Roy's eye while Samus managed a few more emotions into Megaman. Pit was fully healed of his remaining injuries while Dark Pit started seeing Link for therapy. Bowser Jr. was found in Fox's closet, bound and gagged. Bowser never regenerated after his burns, but was happy nonetheless now that his family was back together. Things were finally looking up after the rather stressful week behind everyone.

In the food court, everyone was enjoying breakfast in their designated areas. When Master Hand entered the room, he was almost too hesitant to break the news to them. Everyone seemed so… happy, despite what happened. Of course, many of them were ignorant of what truly happened, and some didn't care, but… Master Hand sighed and tried to get the fighters' attentions.

"Ahem… Fighters, assists, otherwise. I have an announcement."

All eyes were on Master Hand in almost an instant. He knew he was going to miss this kind of control.

"Tomorrow will mark the end of Smash Brothers as a whole. Pack up your things. Say your goodbyes. All of you are returning to your own universes."

At first, everyone was completely silent. No one was truly able to comprehend those words. Then, Captain Falcon laughed.

"Master Hand, April first passed a while ago! You really fooled us, though! Heh…"

Master Hand didn't laugh. "Don't leave anything behind. You won't be able to come back for it." He turned to leave the room, but just as he did so, Megaman stood up.

"Master Hand, there is no logical reasoning behind ending this recreational program. An explanation is due." The others stood as well, ready to listen. Master Hand didn't even turn around.

"Too many have gotten hurt because of this. Smash Bros was Mario's idea, so how could I possibly continue something with such an unjust purpose?"

"You don't need to continue the tournaments under Mario! You're just as capable without him!" Palutena protested. Master Hand let out an empty laugh.

"You sure do love defying me, huh? Even if I was to continue, we can't have this game without Mario. He's our mascot."

Shulk raised an eyebrow. "It's not like anyone's _watching_ these tournaments! I don't see why a mascot would be important."

Master Hand didn't want to tell them the reality of the tournaments. Only a few characters are self aware. They know these games are not entirely under their control. Some are, but most are controlled by something greater. "My reasoning is beyond your comprehension. I'm ending Smash Bros whether you like it or not. There's nothing you can say or do to change my mind."

Pit knew exactly why they needed a mascot. After all, he was all too self aware in his own game. "Master Hand, I understand the necessity of Mario, but why don't you just take one of his clones and dress it up like him?"

"Because _they_ can tell the difference. That's why he's still alive. Now stop trying to change my mind!" Master Hand then left.

Ness turned towards Lucas. "If… If he's ending this… That means I'll never get to see you again. By your time… I'm dead…"

Lucas tried not to cry, but failed. Soon after that, the food court was filled with with hectic goodbyes. Everyone began to exchange hugs and uncontrollable tears, attempting to tie up loose ends. In the middle of all the commotion, Pikachu approached a rather depressed group of Fire Emblem characters, holding a note. Roy got a little nervous, ready to stand up and leave, but Pikachu just set down the note at his feet and walked away. Roy picked it up and read:

 _I forgive you._

Ike repeatedly told Roy to hold back on the tears, or else he might short circuit again.

The next day, Pit woke up, but didn't leave the bed. He stared at his ceiling for a long while until he heard Dark Pit groaning from the other side of the room.

"Why is everyone making such a big deal out of this? They get to go back home. All we did since we got here was fight each other. What kind of bonds can form… from that?"

Pit didn't respond. He wasn't even angry, for when Dark Pit said that, Pit could hear his voice cracking a bit.

The angels, along with the rest of the fighters gathered around at Final Destination, waiting for Master Hand to give the word. All it takes is a snap of the fingers before the portal forms. Crazy Hand was also there, twitching as always. Master Hand floated above everyone, clearing his nonexistent throat to give a final speech.

"Fighters… Assists… Others… It was fun." He paused, unable to say much else. "The portal will transport you all in order. Please reorder yourselves by similarity. Mario World characters are first, so stand over there."

"What about my - a brother?" Luigi whimpered. Master Hand laughed.

"He can't go back with you! He's in prison. I'm sure one of his many lives will be there to take his place."

"But-"

"No buts! Now Kirby characters go over to the-"

"Might I have a word?" Crazy Hand interrupted.

The fighters were all quite surprised, for Crazy Hand only talked once before. "I, personally, enjoyed every moment of watching you sad, pathetic little pawns suffer for the past few days. As much as I love witnessing the loss of hope in your useless ocular perceptors, I'd hate for your suffering to end. You evolutionary mistakes have a need to form bonds and friendships, and when those are broken, you lose a part of yourselves. We do not need bonds, but your primitive yet contagious ways have rubbed off on that sad glove, and I'm afraid that it has a slight effect on myself. What are a couple of worthless lives to the large group of close and undying relationships?" Crazy Hand sighed. "I will - and I do not utilize this word without truly meaning it - miss you all, dearly."

Crazy Hand didn't giggle. He didn't even twitch. He seemed much more calm than Master Hand, even. Despite Crazy Hand's rather condescending, out-of character, and harsh tone, the fighters all knew they needed a speech like that. Master Hand tried to ignore the obvious message Crazy Hand was sending to him, and sent the fighters through the portal as planned. When the Fire Emblem characters were called, Roy was told to hold back.

"Whoa, hold on a minute, boy." Master Hand grabbed him and set him down. "You have to stay here."

"But what about-"

"You're still guilty of your crimes. Also, foreign objects cannot return to your universe. If you go through the portal, you will lose half of your head and die."

Roy looked at Marth, who was just about to walk through the portal. "But… We were finally-"

"I know. The verdict... But you're gonna have to say your goodbyes."

Master Hand only allowed the two of them to say their goodbyes in under a minute. Roy was reluctant to let go of Marth's hand, as it was the last he saw of him. After that, Roy was sent back to the prison with Mario.

It took only a half an hour for everyone to go through. Mr. Game and Watch was the last to go. He stopped for a moment and faced towards the hands. He couldn't speak, or show emotion, but he somehow showed the two hands just how visibly devastated he was.

And with that, he phased through the portal. Master Hand sighed.

"I'm gonna miss them."

"I am well aware. Here is my prediction to you. You will be overwhelmed with sorrow and loneliness to the point of insanity. Then you will make more poor decisions."

"Well, that's your opinion. It's all over, and all is said and done. There's nothing you can say or do to change that."

"You truly are an imbecile." With that, Crazy Hand started for the portal.

"Crazy, where are you going?"

"Dunno. Maybe I'll go find a better job. Perhaps I can be a cursor for a Sims game." Crazy Hand snarled. "Bastard…"

When he went through the portal, Master Hand's regrets began to grow. But he ignored the pain in his palm and headed to the prison. At least he has them…

* * *

Six months passed since Master Hand officially ended Smash Brothers. Dark Pit moved in with Pit and Palutena, since Viridi wasn't healthy company when you have to live with her 24/7. Things were looking up for them. Thanks to Dark Pit, Pit was learning how to read. Palutena was learning how to cook from Viridi, and Dark Pit was smiling much more often. The events that happened towards the end of Smash Brothers were never talked about around the house, as if it were taboo.

The three of them were sitting around the table eating dinner when they heard the doorbell of Palutena's temple. Pit hopped out of his seat, and said with his mouth full, "I got it!"

At the door was Mario, handcuffed and holding an envelope. He didn't make eye contact with Pit as he simply handed over the envelope. Pit didn't take it at first.

"What are _you_ doing here?!"

Mario gulped and looked behind him before holding up a small piece of paper that had a message hastily scribbled on it.

" _I am not allowed to talk. Please take the letter."_

Pit was unable to tell what was behind Mario, but it all seemed too suspicious. "I don't trust you." Pit was just about to slam the door shut, but Mario put his foot in the way before offering the envelope once again.

"What?! What's in this note, murderer?!" Pit was losing his patience, but Mario just held his head low before holding up the previous message. Pit sighed, pushed Mario out of the way, and slammed the door shut. He was just about to walk back to the dinner table when he heard Mario slipping the envelope through the mail slot. Pit, even though he was pissed, decided to pick up the envelope in sheer curiosity.

" _To: Pit and Dark Pit_

 _From: The Staff of SSB"_

Pit raised an eyebrow, but then flipped the envelope over, noticing an all too familiar red sticker holding it together. In the envelope was a card. On the front of it, the card simply read:

 _"Welcome back."_

The End

 **I know I waited like a year to finish this, and it's such a short chapter, but now I can finally say I finished this! Not that anyone really cared, or was super excited to read the next chapter. Either way, I hope you liked it. This whole thing was a dare from a friend who said "Smash Bros can't be serious," so of course I tried writing something serious. Sorry for the wait, if you were waiting. Please review to give constructive criticism or to just say your thoughts. I know I have tons of room for improvement...**

 **Ciao!**


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